BELAGAVI: Belagavi based three specially-abled players have brought laurels to Karnataka by representing Indian wheelchair basketball teams at the Asia Oceania championship being held in Thailand from November 29 to December 7.
Jyoti Toralkar(21), Resident of Bailur village of Khanapur taluk and Arati Suresh Pawar (31), resident of Anagol area in Belagavi city have got chance in the final 12 squads of Indian women's wheelchair basketball. All these players who are physically handicapped hail from various backward areas of the Belagavi district. They practice on the basketball floor at District Stadium in Nehru Nagar, Belagavi.
Jyoti and Arati are among over 20 specially-abled wheelchair basketball players from Belagavi who practice regularly at the Nehru Stadium. Among these, Jyoti and Arati from Belagavi and Kanchan Kot from Mysuru who plays for the Karnataka team were shortlisted for selection camp that held in Chennai for 20 days for the National team in November. They were shortlisted on the basis of their performances in the National Championship that held in June 2019 at Mohali in Punjab. Karnataka team was secured third place in that championship.
Among these three from Karnataka, Jyoti and Arati were selected for the 18 members squad for 10 days special training camp that too held in Chennai before leaving for Thailand. With their best performance, both these Belagavi girls have got selected to final 12 members squad that left to Thailand already. A total of eight teams that are Australia, China, Japan, Afganistan, Cambodia, Iran Thailand and India will play for the Asia Oceania championship. With this event, the best teams will get qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics-2020.
Coach VS Patil from Belagavi is training these players in Belagavi while Lee Simran and Mahesh Kumar are training them at the state level. Amid many financial problems and odds in life, these girls from backward areas have got selected to the Indian team. They even had paid Rs 500 each for the accommodation and food during the selection camp that held in Chennai. We have raised funds from our pockets for them as we have not got government support. We even do not get proper wheelchairs for the practice said a wheelchair basketball player from Belagavi.