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One of them was 26-year-old Vasyl Oksyntiuk, who lost both of his legs when a shell hit his car near Bakhmut last December during intense battles for the city.
Before his match, he carefully removed both of his prosthetics and left them outside the competition area. He was dressed in a kimono, with short hair and a black mustache. With a determined gaze, he relied on both of his arms as he made his way to centre of the mat to meet his opponent.
“You feel completely different; you forget that you’re lacking something,” Oksyntiuk said.
He volunteered to go to war in February when Russia invaded Ukraine. “In the Constitution and in the heart, it’s written to protect your loved ones, your family, and your home. When the enemies came, something had to be done about it,” he said.
Nearly a year after his injury he has learned to walk confidently on prosthetic limbs, but still looks for new ways to spend his free time.
“I had always wanted to try martial arts, but I thought I was too old for it,” Oksyntiuk said. “Then I lost my legs, saw on the internet that there was this opportunity, and decided to give it a try. I really enjoyed it.”
At his first Ukrainian Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Oksyntiuk won a silver medal in the “para jiu-jitsu” category.
Pohosyan, the TMS Hub co-founder, said the gym has specially equipped bathrooms and other facilities to ensure the comfort of disabled veterans. He said around 20 veterans attend the gym’s jiu-jitsu practices regularly, and the programme wants to add more such gyms, including outside the capital. But that will depend on money because the project relies on donations, he said.
After the tournament’s medals were distributed, the former soldiers, overwhelmed with emotion, approached Pohosyan to convey their gratitude, and to say the experience was exactly what they needed.
“This is the greatest reward for us,” Pohosyan said.
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