With a racket in my hand, I have been to Canada, Germany, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. Across Ukraine, I traveled to play my favorite sport in Kharkiv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Odesa, and Cherkasy.

And wherever there are journeys, stories are born. Not all of them are easy, but each one leaves something important behind.

One of the most memorable lessons for me came from the toenail on the big toe of my right foot.

If you're right-handed, that foot takes the greatest load during a badminton match.

Before one of my trips, I trimmed my nail badly. It became infected. On the overnight train, I barely slept. I could feel the pain pulsing in my toe, and I worried not only about the injury itself, but also about not being able to play the next day and letting my team down.

But every time a match started, I somehow forgot about my toe. The game completely took over.

And only after the matches, when I took off my shoes and socks, would I see that things were really not looking good.

Since then, I have been very careful when trimming my nails.

And I rarely travel on overnight trains if there is an option to choose a daytime route.

Some life lessons arrive in very unexpected ways.

Another lesson came from Bulgaria.

Twenty-four hours on a bus changed my attitude toward that kind of travel forever.

At the time, it seemed like a perfectly normal idea. But after a full day on a bus, I realized it was simply too much for my body.

That experience taught me something important — I need sleep when I travel. Since then, I rarely travel overnight if I have a choice.

At night, I want to find a bed. Whether it's at a friend's place or in a hotel. And then continue the journey in the morning.

Because for me, comfort while traveling is not a luxury. It is a way to enjoy the journey rather than simply get from point A to point B.

My badminton memories from Canada are all pleasant ones.

There was a badminton club right below the office where I worked. It felt like pure luck.

My job was sedentary, so by the end of the day I couldn't wait to grab my racket and chase a shuttlecock around the court.

That was where I played with international badminton players for the first time.

Most of them were Chinese, and they welcomed me very warmly.

I remember thinking how wonderful it is to have a sport you love.

When you travel, you can find yourself in a completely different country, surrounded by people with a different language and culture, but the moment you step onto the court, you immediately feel like you belong.

Because you are already united by something important — a love for the game.

I also played badminton in Canada with my nieces, my sister, and my mother.

Everyone in our family loves badminton, so spending time together on the court is always something special for me.

I think every family benefits from having something that brings them together. For some, it is travel. For others, it is family traditions.

For us, one of those shared passions became badminton.

I played most of my matches and tournaments in Kyiv.

But badminton gave me more than just sport.

It also gave me friendships that have stayed with me for years.

In Germany, I stepped onto the court again with my friend Kateryna, who moved to Heidelberg at the beginning of the war.

I was very happy to visit her. And even happier to play together again.

I remembered how we used to play singles and doubles matches in Kyiv, train together, and compete.

And then, many years later, we met again in another country, still holding the same rackets in our hands.

Much later, after I had already left professional sport, one of my long-time dreams came true.

Together with friends, I attended the Badminton World Championships in Basel, Switzerland.

For the first time, I saw the world's best players with my own eyes.

They seemed almost unreal.

Such precision.

Such speed.

Such endurance.

Like machines.

Then I thought once again about where something you love can lead you.

Once, I simply picked up a badminton racket.

And years later, it had brought me to different countries and given me friends, adventures, lessons, and memories.

Thank you for reading!

Journey with a racket

Trains and adventures

A birthday at 12,000 meters