Having attended a month-long training camp in London, Sonal Patel (19) has set her eyes on the upcoming Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi this October.
But she is unlike any other athlete. Together with Bhavina Patel (23), Usha Rathore (25) and Ramila Chauhan (32), the wheelchair-bound Patel will represent India under the special category at the Commonwealth Games.
The team was trained by national-level table tennis champion and coach, Lalan Doshi, at the Blind People’s Association (BPA) in Ahmedabad.
Sonal contracted polio at the age of three and has been wheelchair-bound since then.
Incidentally, this will be the first time that the special category championship in table tennis is being introduced in the Commonwealth Games, said Doshi.
Doshi, himself a Sports Authority of India (SAI) teamplayer from 1989 to 2000, tried to play the game sitting on a wheelchair, in a bid to understand the players’ constraints.
“Backache seemed to be the main problem for the players as they had to pick up the ball many times during the 8 am to 5 pm practice session. I changed their training from single ball to multiple ball formats for practice. As the four players had no formal training previously, proper practice and exercise sessions helped a lot,” he said.
Meanwhile, the team is proud to represent the country at the international level after a gruelling championship in the Gulf and England last year as part of the selection procedure.
“I have been trained only for a year before I could participate in this championship,” said Sonal.
The other team mates have been playing at the national level for the last three years and are very happy to represent the country in the CWG.
Ramila, Usha and Bhavina work at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, while Sonal is pursuing a computer course at the BPA.
Courtesy : www.indianexpress.com
But she is unlike any other athlete. Together with Bhavina Patel (23), Usha Rathore (25) and Ramila Chauhan (32), the wheelchair-bound Patel will represent India under the special category at the Commonwealth Games.
The team was trained by national-level table tennis champion and coach, Lalan Doshi, at the Blind People’s Association (BPA) in Ahmedabad.
Sonal contracted polio at the age of three and has been wheelchair-bound since then.
Incidentally, this will be the first time that the special category championship in table tennis is being introduced in the Commonwealth Games, said Doshi.
Doshi, himself a Sports Authority of India (SAI) teamplayer from 1989 to 2000, tried to play the game sitting on a wheelchair, in a bid to understand the players’ constraints.
“Backache seemed to be the main problem for the players as they had to pick up the ball many times during the 8 am to 5 pm practice session. I changed their training from single ball to multiple ball formats for practice. As the four players had no formal training previously, proper practice and exercise sessions helped a lot,” he said.
Meanwhile, the team is proud to represent the country at the international level after a gruelling championship in the Gulf and England last year as part of the selection procedure.
“I have been trained only for a year before I could participate in this championship,” said Sonal.
The other team mates have been playing at the national level for the last three years and are very happy to represent the country in the CWG.
Ramila, Usha and Bhavina work at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, while Sonal is pursuing a computer course at the BPA.
Courtesy : www.indianexpress.com
