Goa defeated favourites Maharashtra by seven wickets to win the Inter-State cricket tournament for visually impaired at the Karo ground, Marcel, on Tuesday
Panaji:
Sports minister Govind Gaude
has assured para athletes that they will have exclusive access to at least one major training facility in the state.
Gaude was the chief guest for the Inter-State cricket tournament for visually impaired at Marcel on Tuesday where he was briefed by
Goa Blind Association
Goa secretary
Yeshwant Nageshkar
about the difficulties while preparing for any tournament. For the triangular tournament with Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh also taking part, Goa trained for just a couple of days due to lack of facilities.
“We will try and provide para athletes with an exclusive training facility,” Gaude said during his address to the visually impaired cricketers. “We can set aside a sports complex for this purpose. I’ve been told that they don’t have enough space to train.”
Lack of training facilities for para athletes has been highlighted in the past, particularly by cricket, table tennis and basketball players.
Goa, though, has done better recently with the organisation of two major sporting events. Last year, as part of the Purple Fest, Goa hosted the National Para Athletics Championship that saw participation from 1000 para athletes, competing in 180 events. More recently, the National Para Swimming Championships was held at Campal.
“Para athletes have the same enthusiasm as anyone else. They need a platform like this (cricket) tournament and participation will surely follow,” said Gaude.
For the visually impaired cricketers, the sports minister provided an example of Hokaito Zhimomi from Nagaland, who made it to the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL). Zhimomi though did not get to play any IPL game and eventually his contract was not renewed.
“When he returned to Nagaland, he was asked if it’s a failure (not playing a game). He told everyone that training with legends like Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting cannot be a failure. In life, you always learn and grow. Whatever the circumstances, you just cannot afford to be demoralised,” said Gaude.
State commissioner for persons with disabilities
Guruprasad Pawaskar
said sports facilities were made accessible to para athletes during the two national championships. “Our plan is to ensure that all stadiums are fully accessible for athletes with disabilities,” he said.
Goa defeated favourites Maharashtra by seven wickets to win the Inter-State cricket tournament for visually impaired at the Karo ground, Marcel, on Tuesday.
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