When Squadron Leader Abhai Pratab Singh, 38, was paralysed waist-down after a road accident in 2009, he was confined to a hospital for two years. But Singh came out of hospital with a steely resolve: to connect with, and help others, like him.
“From flying a Mig-27 to being in a wheelchair; it was a difficult journey. But now, with Wheelchair Cricket India, we have a chance to explore the world once again,” said Abhai, vice-captain of the Indian wheelchair cricket team, which left for Dhaka on its first international trip on Thursday. The team will play against Bangladesh in a bilateral series from May 4-8.
‘Wrote to sports bodies, only Sachin wrote back’
Wheelchair Cricket India (WCI), which has 16 state teams, was founded by international para-athlete and national awardee Pradeep Raj in 2011 after a visit to Korea where he met wheelchair cricket delegations from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Raj believes that the sport will gain popularity just like the Paralympics.
The association’s consistent efforts have also led to the formation of the Asian Wheelchair Cricket Council (AWCC), with Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan and India as its members. The first meeting of the AWCC was held at Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh on November 4, 2017, where it was decided that India would host the first Wheelchair Cricket Asia Cup in October, 2018.
WCI vice-president and DPS Rohtak principal Hector Ravinder Dutt said that the Indian team has 14 players from across India, including states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. These states also have their respective teams, which played the first-of-its-kind National Wheelchair Cricket Tournament in 2017, where UP emerged the winner.
The players admit that the road ahead is long but say that they feel truly alive while playing the gentleman’s game.