Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Nov 3: The ongoing cricket tourney for visually impaired girls has given such players a platform for exposure to the gentleman’s game. The enthusiasm of the participants is contagious.
The ten-day coaching-cum-tournament camp is being organised by Orissa Cricket for the Blind (OCB) in collaboration with Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped (VRCH) and NGOs Indian Institute of Education and Care (IIEC) and State Branch of National Association for the Blind India (NABI).
The players have been undergoing a seven-day training in cricket which is to continue till November 5. The players are also being trained in yoga, meditation, physical training and theory. They are given field practice at Satya Sai Women’s College ground.
“The main objective behind organising this event is to decrease gender disparity. In Orissa there is no women’s cricket team for the visually impaired, whereas other states have teams of both male and female cricket players. It is a tool to empower women and also to increase their confidence level. It is just an initial stage, we will regularly organise such events,” OCB president RK Sharma said.
Sharma said he had been initially very worried about organising the event as most participants were from villages and had never played cricket. “But it was quite surprising that these girls grasped things really fast. After the first day’s training they easily understood everything and now they are playing very well,” Sharma added.
The tournament includes 12 matches among four teams over three days starting November 6. From each team 12 best players will be selected to form a team for Orissa to play in the zonal, regional and national level cricket tournaments for the blind women.
Corporate houses such as Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), National Aluminum Company (NALCO), State Bank of India (SBI) and Canara Bank are also supporting the first-ever event.
OCB has already produced several male visually impaired cricket players of international repute. And they are playing in national and international teams. By organising such a tournament, OCB hopes to produce women players who can be members of national and international teams.
