Badminton keeps this Kerala couple young at heart and body

Eighty-three-year-old Jacob Thomas (Johny) and his 78-year-old wife, Valsa Elizabeth Jacob, still move across the badminton court with youthful energy, their strokes as strong as ever. Except on Sundays, the couple unfailingly turns up on the badminton court in the premises of the Marthoma Church at Mulakkuzha near Chengannur from 6 am to 7 am, a routine they credit for their remarkable health. Badminton, they believe, has kept age and illness at bay.

Fitness through badminton
“We haven’t even had a serious fever in years. Until about six years ago, it was normal for us to play for two to three hours at a stretch. We also offered free training to children at the YMCA and later coached at the church’s court for nearly two years,” says Jacob, stressing that badminton has been the cornerstone of their health and vitality.

Jacob spent 27 years working in Kuwait with a private company that dealt in Toyota cars. After office hours, he would head straight to the Indian Arts Circle to play badminton, where Valsa and their children often joined him. Over the years, Jacob became one of the main organisers of the All Kuwait Badminton Tournament, while also serving as general secretary and referee. Both Jacob and Valsa emerged as winners in several tournaments held in Kuwait during the 1980s.

Defying age
When Jacob returned to Kerala in 1990, he continued his passion for the game at the YMCA badminton court in Chengannur. Valsa, too, carried her legacy forward. As a student of Assumption College, Changanassery, she had won the All Kerala Badminton Tournament, and one of her fondest memories remains playing alongside the legendary Prakash Padukone.

Their children, Susan Jacob and Mathew Jacob, also share their parents’ love for the sport. At their home, Vadakkaneh House in Mulakkuzha, the drawing room is lined with trophies that stand as testimony to decades of victories and a shared journey in badminton.