WBFI to hold Historic Exhibition Match and Training Camp
Chennai/Hyderabad, 12th June, 2016: The Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India (WBFI) along with the Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Cognizant are organizing a national coaching camp from the 22nd to the 26th of June, which will be followed by an international exhibition game between India and Thailand.
The event and the game, which will be played against Thailand, will take place at the KVBR Stadium, Yousufguda, Hyderabad. The friendly game will be the first International wheelchair basketball game to be played in India,
The camp will be supported by two international organizations, namely: the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), and the International Paralympic Committee’s AGITOS Foundation.
There will be 4 technical professionals who will be present at the event and who will conduct the national camp. In addition to the 75 players who will be trained at the camp, there will be about 80 coaches from India, and 1 coach from Malaysia who will also be trained.
The national camp is part of an IWBF project, the Introduction to Wheelchair Basketball for Developing National Organizations for Wheelchair Basketball (NOWBS) Project. India is the first country where the project will be instituted. The Indian wheelchair basketball team will be participating on the world stage, for the first time, at the U23 Men’s Wheelchair Basketball World Championship, which will be held in Toronto, Canada in June of 2017. The team to be sent for the event will be selected at this camp, making it all the more significant.
The WBFI believes that this is an opportunity to introduce para-sport to the country as a whole, and to Telengana in particular. According to them, this is important because para-sports allows differently abled individuals to live a more complete life and to raise awareness about leading a healthier lifestyle.
The National Wheelchair Basketball Technical Camp that will be held in Telangana from the 22nd to the 26th of June and organized by the WBFI
About the WBFI
WBFI is a registered society that is based in Chennai and with a mandate to promote the sport of Wheelchair Basketball (WCB) in India. Affiliated to International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), WBFI’s vision is to enable extensive participation and gather a following for wheelchair basketball as a means to empower Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and also to change the societal perception of PwDs. WBFI actively advocates and supports players grass root organization and coordinates with government and other stakeholders, with the aim of developing a string of wheelchair basketball players across states. In less than 2 years, they have been able to develop 9 State level teams including 2 all- women teams.