Maharashtra crowned over all champions in 6th national wheelchair basketball championship

Mohali, Punjab : The 6th National Wheelchair Basketball Championships for Men and Women were held at Mohali from 24 to 29 June 2019. This was organised by the Punjab Sports Department.

The two indoor courts, washroom arrangements, accommodation arrangements (disabled-friendly) and transportation arrangements were all well co-ordinated by the hard-working volunteers of the Punjab Sports Department.

The matches were held on a league-cum-knockout format.  22 Men’s team and 14 Women’s team participated in this tournament. 

It was heartening to note that for the first time, teams from Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Uttarakhand participated. This was due to the great efforts put in by WBFI to conduct Camps in these States.

The defending champions were Maharashtra in both the Men’s and Women’s sections. Tamil Nadu were the runners-up in both the sections.

The Maharashtra Men’s team comprising mainly of players from the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre (PRC), Khadki, led by Shri Suresh Karki, practised at Pune.

The Maharashtra Women’s team, comprising of 6 players from Mumbai and 4 players from Pune, led by Ms Kartiki Patel, practised at Mumbai and Pune.

Wheelchair Basketball rules are similar to Basketball rules for able bodied persons. The height of the ring and court measurements are the same as for Regulation Basketball. However, in Wheelchair Basketball, there is no double dribble violation. The travelling rules are also slightly modified. The rules regarding 24 seconds violation and 14 seconds violation are the same as in Regulation Basketball.

Controlling the wheelchair and moving ahead with the Basketball at the same time, is indeed a difficult task. Arm strength is of paramount importance in this game, as most players have Spinal Cord Injuries. Players have been doing weight training (dumbbells, lifting weights etc.) to improve their arm-strength.

Maharashtra secured the top spot in the 6th National Wheelchair Basketball Championship in both the Men’s and the Women’s categories at the Multipurpose Stadium in Mohali on Saturday, 29 June 2019.

Union Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju attended the event on the concluding day. He has promised to improve the para-sports facilities in all SAI stadiums. He was impressed with the performance of the Wheelchair Basketball players.

In the Men’s category, Maharashtra beat Punjab by 64-52 to win their sixth consecutive title. In the Women’s category, Maharashtra defeated Tamil Nadu by 25-14 and claimed their second title.

The event was organised by the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India (WBFI), with the assistance of the Punjab sports department.

Results

Men

Final Match: Maharashtra beat Punjab : 64 – 52

Semifinal- Maharashtra beat Telangana 40-11

Quarterfinals-Maharashtra beat Odisha 62-02

Pre quarter finals- Maharashtra beat Puducherry 56-07

Pool (League) Match- Maharashtra beat Delhi 39-10

Women

Final Match: Maharashtra beat Tamil Nadu : 25 – 14

Semi finals- Maharashtra beat Karnataka 21-13

Quarterfinals- Maharashtra beat Delhi 27-04

Pool (League) Match-Maharashtra beat Odisha 21-08

Overall positions

Men

1. Maharashtra. 2. Punjab. 3. Tamil Nadu 4. Telangana

Women

1. Maharashtra. 2. Tamil Nadu 3. Karnataka. 4. Odisha

The above would not have been possible without the active cooperation, support and involvement of the Wheelchair Men and Women players from Pune and Mumbai and the following:-

Col Mukherjee – Medical Director, Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Khadki, Pune

Shri Prasanna Choudhari, President, Wheelchair Basketball Association, Maharashtra (WBAM).

Shri Anthony Pereira – Coach and Mentor for the Wheelchair players.

Shri Abraham Poulose – Technical Commissioner of Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India (WBFI)

Shri Sharad Nagane – Coach & Chief Strategist for the Mens team and Pune womens team

Captain Louis George Meprath – Coach, Mentor for the Womens Team

Dr. Ketna Mehta – Founder, Nina Foundation

Dr. Manohar Mane, HOD, Physical Education Department, Mumbai University and the Security Staff and all other Staff of the Physical Education Department

Dr. Vasanthi Kadhiravan – Physical Education Department, Mumbai University – Women’s Team Manager

Dr. Deepika Makwana – Team Physio

Ms Meghna Munot – Delegation Member and Chief Team Motivator

Our double victory (Men’s and Women’s teams) would not have been possible without the active cooperation and commitment of the men and women players, ably led by the team captains Shri Suresh Karki and Ms Kartiki Patel respectively.

Also, Prem Singh Patwal, Naina Singh Thapa Prem Kumar Ale, Anil Kachhi, Amol Boriwale, Jayaram Nair, Ramesh Nivrutti Gadhave, Varun Kharkhanis & Javed Choudhari who represented the Mens Team.

Geeta Chouhan (Anu), Nisha Gupta, Sakshi Chauhan, Minakshi Jadhav, Dinkle Shah, Reena Gupta, Kiran Metkar, Komal Mali and Aasma Jamadar who represented the Womens team.

Mumbai University who helped us by providing their indoor ground for practise on all weekends and on other days whenever requested.

Clover Hill Society (NIBM Road, Pune) Members, who helped us by providing their ground for practise and also helped the Women’s team financially. Special mention needs to be made of Shri Ameet Gadhoke, who in addition to supporting the team financially, also sponsored two Sports wheelchairs.

Rotary Club Members, Downtown, Pune, who spared their valuable time and motivated the players. In addition, they helped the Women Players financially to help them book their air tickets to Chandigarh and back and for other expenses.

Cognizant Mumbai – who volunteered their time and helped during practise sessions and also provided transportation for picking up and dropping players from their residence.

Dr. Girish Trivedi, Founder Trustee of AIDS Combat International (ACI) for sponsoring 03 Sports Wheelchairs.

Ram Ratna International School, Uttan Bhayander (West), Mumbai for sponsoring 03 Sports Wheelchairs.

St Vincent’s School, Pune and Hotfut, Koregaon Park, Pune who helped us by providing their ground for practise.

M/s Vinayak Pipes and Tubes, Pvt Ltd. for helping us financially.

Ms Kartiki Patel and Ms Geeta Chouhan for finding new Women players in Pune and initially organising their practice sessions at Clover Hills Society, Pune.