By Pam Kiriakidis
Wallan’s Martyn Ford returned home last month after breaking the Australian record for most wheelchair medals at the Uganda International Para-Badminton Tournament 2023.
Mr Ford competed in singles, doubles and mixed doubles and won two medals in the first Australian doubles with paralympian Grant Manzoney and mixed doubles with Ruchi Trivedi from India.
Mr Ford, who was the first Australian to win an international medal as a wheelchair one athlete – the player class for athletes with impairment in both lower limbs and trunk function – said the mixed doubles quarter finals was a great challenge.
“That was a toughie. It was good – I’ve never played with [my teammate] before … and mixed doubles is a bit of a challenge where you basically work out where the player is and you hammer at them basically, just keep whacking it at them,” he said.
“In the end it came down to a bit of fitness, but also just really starting to work together.”
The double bronze medallist first picked up a badminton racquet seven months ago ‘by accident’, having a hit with a few teammates from Collingwood Football Club’s wheelchair team at the Boroondara Sports Complex, where he now trains in badminton.
From the first hit, Mr Ford was a natural and he now has several international competitions planned this year, including the Indonesian Para-Badminton International and Oceania Para-Badminton International – with hopes to make it to the Paris Paralympics in 2024 with Australian doubles partner Manzoney.
Currently ranked 12th with Manzoney under the Badminton World Federation, Mr Ford needs to be in the top 10 to represent Australia and said the Paralympics were a ‘long life dream’.
“You’re putting in all this hard work and effort and it makes it even sweeter when you have to try and fundraise it all yourself, train yourself and against athletes that [have] their full support staff travelling with them. They’ve got full programs, [and] you’re up against it all,” he said.
“To be able to just compete against them and do well against them – it means a lot.”
Wheelchair sport only came into the picture last year, drafted to Collingwood Football Club’s wheelchair team last season.
While sport has been a constant theme in Mr Ford’s life, it took a turn when he was in an incident in July 2012 – losing all feeling from the neck down.
Rehabilitation became a long journey to build some sensation in his arms and hands but Mr Ford managed to get back into sport through coaching his children’s basketball games.
“It’s hard because I’m actually classified as a quadriplegic, so initially I had no movement from the neck down … and I’ve done a lot of rehab and all that to get some movement back,” he said.
“It’s taken a lot of years to be able to do your daily things.”
With his own children grown up, Mr Ford is now involved in sports days where children with disabilities can test different sports, including badminton.
He said the sports days were to show youth what they could do beyond their disability.
“It’s just really to get out, and having an injury doesn’t stop you from having fun and being in a social environment where you can enjoy life … it helps in so many ways,” he said.
WTG Marty!