Wheelchair Basketball Championship Tip-off in Delhi in December

Press Release: The 2nd National Wheelchair Basketball Championship will be held from the 2nd to the 6th of December 2015 at Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, Indraprastha, New Delhi. The Championship is organized by the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India (WBFI) in partnership with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the  Government of India and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The WBFI is striving to promote this sport for the benefit of people with disabilities, and has planned this event to coincide with the occasion of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities (3rd Dec.). 

File photo. Students of Amar Jyothi School, Delhi

The opening ceremony will be held on December 2nd 2015, at 11 am, starting with an exhibition match by children from the Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust. Several dignitaries from the Government, Corporates and NGOs will grace the opening and closing ceremony as well as witness the championship prosper.

The 1st National Championship that was held in Chennai last year was won by the Maharashtra team. This year, the competition will see 9 State Teams compete for the trophy. They are: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh. A special Women’s Championship will also be held during this period and 2 women teams (a mixed team from various states) will compete for the Women’s Championship. Additionally, an exhibition match for children wheelchair basketball players will be held as well.

The holding of this Championship is a cardinal part of the singular goal of the WBFI to send the first ever Indian Wheelchair Basketball Team to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and in this regard, the WBFI will continue to organize championships and coaching clinics to prepare a pool of Wheelchair Basketball players to represent India in International Championships, as a build up to the Olympics.

File photo: WBFI President Madhavi Latha (centre) and Coach Jess Markt (right) with school children present at the workshop

A high powered delegation from the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) led by its President, Mr. Ulf Mehrens (Germany) and which includes the IWBF Secretary General Ms. Maureen Orchard (Canada), IWBF Asia Oceania Zone (AOZ), President Mr. Saad Alazmaa (Kuwait) and IWBF AOZ –Vice President for West Asia Region Ms Anisa Ibrahim Abbas Al Hooti will be in attendance as well as offer technical support. There will also be a 3-day Classification Clinic to be conducted by the IWBF’s AOZ Classification Instructor Mr. Toufic Allouche (Lebanon).

This year’s championship is supported by L&T Construction, Cognizant, YWTC Charitable Trust, The Leprosy Mission Trust India, Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust and Indian Spinal Injuries Centre.

For any further details please contact:

Ms P Madhavi Latha, President, WBFI, Mb.91-9841609601

Ms Kalyani Rajaraman, Secretary General, WBFI, Mb. 91-9841098056

Ms Angel Singha, Social Inclusion Officer, ICRC, Mb.91-8588871426

About the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India The Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India, WBFI is a registered National body that is set-up with a vision to enable large-scale participation and following of wheelchair basketball as a means to empower people with disabilities and to nurture strong state-level and national teams to promote Wheelchair Basketball in India. Since inception in 2014, we have organized workshops in Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu reaching out to around 300 persons with physical impairments.

- About the International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an independent and non-political organization with a large scope of activities which it undertakes through its presence in most countries. Its existence and activities are universally recognized and it regularly responds to the needs of people adversely affected by situations of humanitarian concern, including armed conflict and violence.