For first time, they get on court, in wheelchair to play basketball

PANAJI: The sight of a

wheelchair

has never felt so good for Vishant Nagvekar. Afflicted with polio in both legs since birth, Nagvekar has grown up loving sports all his life but never got a chance to follow his dreams. Until Monday morning, even if it was only on a wheelchair.

The Wheelchair

Basketball

Federation of India (WBFI) introduced the sport to Goa for the first time on Monday, and Vishant, along with 14 others, couldn’t have been happier at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium at Taleigao.

Goan players picked up the finer points of using the wheelchair within an hour
“If we get such opportunities, we can be as good as anyone else. There are hardly any opportunities for the disabled to even exercise in Goa, and now we get to play this sport,” said the 41-year-old Nagvekar, an employee of the state’s tourism department.

Neither Nagvekar, nor anyone else who showed up, have played basketball. Like Nagvekar, a tennis player, and Kuttikar, they all have a sporting connection – largely swimming – but basketball has been alien to people with disabilities in Goa.

“Until now, we’ve not used a wheelchair either,” said Mangesh Kuttikar, an international archer and swimmer who has won plenty of sporting acclaim.

But that’s the least of their worries.

“This is not so difficult sport to learn. We will start with training on how to use the wheelchair on the court, and later movements with the ball. I am sure within the next two days, they will fall in love with the sport,” said WBFI general secretary Kalyani Rajaraman.

Kalyani wasn’t wrong. The Goan players who took to the court for the first time picked up the finer points of using the wheelchair within an hour. There were a few hiccups, like when one of the player tumbled on the court, but by late in the evening, they had a fair idea of how to glide on the court and even handle the ball.

“These coaches are good. They make wheelchair basketball look so simple,” said Nagvekar, pointing at the likes of Lee Roy Simon and Capt Louis George, both of whom have trained under the world’s best wheelchair basketball coaches, including one who has won a medal at the Olympics.

Goa’s wheelchair basketball players have bigger concerns, though.

“What would we do once the two-day workshop is over? We don’t have access to these specialised wheelchairs and there is no way we can afford to buy them,” said Kuttikar.

Each of the 25 wheelchairs which were ferried to the stadium cost Rs 35,000 and have to be imported from London. The WBFI has an understanding with the exporters and managed to buy them at a heavily-discounted price.

For the Goan players who took to the wheelchair for the first time, the state government is their best hope. At the opening of the workshop, secretary (sports) J Ashok Kumar and executive director of the Sports Authority of Goa V M Prabhu Desai both promised “unstinted support.” They’ve walked the talk so far, providing all facilities at the exorbitantly-charged Shyama Prasad Indoor Stadium for free, besides arranging for the lodging and boarding of all participants.

“This is the best (facility) we have had,” admitted Kalyani, who landed in Goa after launching the sport in Manipur and Mizoram.

Goa is the 19th state where the sport has been introduced since WBFI was formed in 2014. Now, WBFI wants Goa to put together a 10-member team for the

national

championships next month, and should anyone from Goa show promise, they could even find a place in the Indian team for the Asian championships in Thailand.

For Vishant and Co, the sky is now the limit. Being in a wheelchair and holding the ball has never felt so good.