CHENNAI: As the Poland team walked to the glass show court at the Express Avenue Mall for their second match against Malaysia on Wednesday in their debut World Cup, it was a watershed moment for Ukraine-born teenager Sofia Zrazhevska. As she missed out on playing in the first match reportedly due to entry visa issues, she finally got the opportunity to represent "my adopted country," at the world stage.
Born and raised in Dnipro in Ukraine, Sofia, then 15, with her younger sister and mother, fled the nation in 2022. “It all started when my mom took me and my sister to Poland. At the same time, I got invited by my coaches (Natalia and Marc Lopez) there in March that year. The three of us stayed together in Warsaw for a year. Both my mother and sister had to come back to their wider family in Dnipro. My mother had to work because the language in Poland was a problem for her," told The New Indian Express.
They took the train that left for Poland that day and took two days to reach the border. “We could not fly because the air traffic was closed. After the train reached the border, we had to walk. Then my coaches took us to our new home."
While the family returned back to their home in Dnipro, one of the adversely affected cities with more than 100 fatalities reported, Sofia’s life in Poland became better. “My life there got better, the squash there is bigger, and I got the opportunity to play other tournaments. The safe environment there also helped. Within a year I picked up the language and was able to make friends,” she explained.
In 2025, she has advanced to two semi-final appearances in PSA tours (in Lausanne Open and the Czech Open in Brno). She is ranked 189 in the PSA rankings, with her life-time highest ranking of 179 in January 2024. This year, she missed out on representing Poland at the World Games in Chengdu, China due to her not obtaining Polish citizenship yet. “This is why I could not participate in the national tournaments too. Now, I am included in the part of the Olympic project of Poland, playing squash, that way I will try to get me a passport,” she explained.
Even if the situation in Ukraine gets better, Sofia said that she would remain in Poland. “I am still Ukrainian, but Poland is my adopted country. I appreciate my coaches in Ukraine because without them I would not be where I am now. But I feel like the main improvements came when I got to Poland,” the 19-year-old added.
At present, her mother is trying to meet all ends with work there, to put food on the table for herself and her sister back home. Sofia, in Poland works as a coach to help cover expenses with her equipment and other necessary expenses. “I work with the juniors and I love it. Sharing knowledge with them and connecting with them helps me understand people.
“(But) I am not able to provide for the family yet. Because the sport is expensive, but I want to try my best as a professional. If I just be a full-time coach maybe then I can support myself and my family. But they are holding together and helping out each other. Sometimes, they even manage to help me. I am trying to handle everything by myself,” she explained.
Q/F results: Hong Kong, China 3-0 Switzerland; Japan 2-2 Malaysia (Japan win 9-8 on No of games won); India 3-0 South Africa; Egypt 3-0 Australia.
Semifinal line-up: Hong Kong, China vs Japan (3pm), Egypt vs India (6.00pm)
