How is the current status of adaptive sports in Nepal?
Well! It’s going in a sluggish pace but at the same I can’t say that nothing happened. People have slowly started understanding the importance of sports for persons with disabilities. Different sports Organizations have sprout out. However, the adaptive sports have been victimized by a tussle between two Paralympic committees and Government’s apathy and lack of understanding in accepting adaptive sports as one of the best ways to bring about social change and keep up the pride of the country in national and international arenas. Anyhow, it’s moving on and I can see a brighter future if this field could get little attention and investment from Government and private sectors as well.
What should be done to improve the current status of adaptive sports in Nepal?
Firstly, there should be an enthusiasm among the youths with disability to play. Concerned organizations should work to motivate youths with disabilities to get involved. Secondly, these sports should be developed from grassroots levels so that the sense of sportsmanship can be developed from the very beginning and this is how sustainability can be given. I think all of us who are working to promote sports for persons with disability should join hands to convince the policy makers to form an autonomous disability sports policy, without which disability sports can’t grow bigger from existing charity based approach. I always pray for a healthy “patch up” of the prolonged tussle between two Paralympics. Leaders of these two Paralympics should transcend above their vested interest and should think in the best interests of disability sports for all of us. The current deadlock does not help anyone.
How did you start CAB?
I think CAB is the gift by the God to me. The irony is that I had always watched cricket when I could see, but I had never played it before. After my blindness in 2003, I was searching some ways to engage and rehabilitate myself. Finding no way, I joined computer training at Nepal Association of the Blind, there I heard that two Pakistani nationals were visiting to Nepal to promote blind cricket. Later on I happened to meet them, joined their training camps. There then, I realized that this cricket can be the best tool to rehabilitate and engage war victims like me and also for those blind who do not have anything to do to improve their health. Later on with the help of my few blind friends, in 2006, CAB was formerly inducted in Nepal.
What are the major challenges in running CAB?
Despite of getting national and international recognition and proving ourselves as one of the pioneer disability sports Organizations in Nepal, we have not been able to get good funding. Even in our international victory, Government and Sports Council do not bother to honor our players. Beside this, each time we think of conducting trainings and tournaments, unavailability of cricket ground always is always a big problem. The only two available cricket grounds at Kathmandu are always used by the sighted players. Our needs in terms of ground are always a second priority to the ground owners. We do have over one hundred blind women cricketers and we are finding very difficult to offer them a cricket ground.
What are CAB's achievements so far and future plans?
Well! Expansion of this great game of cricket for the visually impaired people in more than twenty Districts and serving over five hundred youths and children is our greatest achievements. Most of the disability sports are based only in Kathmandu valley. In such a situation, our cricket has really been successful in making blind from Kanchanpur in the west to Jhapa in the East to play. During the eleven years of existence, we have been able to form a world’s ever first blind women cricket team, which has also been recognized by international communities. We have also been awarded by the Nepal’s only national sports award in 2013, nominated as one of the top three organizations under adaptive sports categories in Beyond Sports Awards and Peace and Sports Awards 2013. We have been able to participate in the World Cup twice and beat strong countries of the world like South Africa, New Zealand and Bangladesh. In the last World Cup held in January 2017 in India, one of our players Mr. Padma Bedrail set a world cup by scoring the highest run of 211 remaining not out against New Zealand. We are planning to invite the Bangladesh Team to Nepal for bilateral series and visit U.A.E in January to play the fifth one day World Cup. Let’s see how much we can do.
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