Chennai hosts Tamil Nadu State Boccia Championship for persons with disabilities

Participants at the championship held in YMCA, Nandanam
| Photo Credit: S Shiva Raj

Sixteen-year-old K Sabana Barveen is shy but her excitement shines through her trademark toothy smile. “After sitting inside the house for so long, this is a whole different world. Jolly ah irruku!” says the boccia player who is wheelchair-bound due to severe physical disabilities. While 36-year-old Karthik Chandrasekhar — a bank employee by day and boccia player when time permits — says that he loves everything about this sport: “I have been playing for the last eight years. I play weekly once, every Saturday.”

At YMCA Nandanam’s otherwise decrepit badminton court last weekend over a hundred wheelchairs plied alongside many blue, red and white balls. 

Badminton was swapped for boccia, a paralympic sport for people with severe movement disabilities as both first-time and seasoned players from across the State gathered in the spirit of competition. The 6th edition of Tamil Nadu State Boccia Championship was a show of strength as boccia, the sport, gains steady visibility in the country. “It is encouraging to see other players showcasing their talent within the limitations they have. I learn a lot every time I go for such tournaments,” continues Sabana. In the last National Championship held in Gwalior, Sabana clinched a gold and silver.    

First introduced in 1984 at the Paralympics, boccia is also one among the two sports that does not have an Olympic counterpart. Initially, it was introduced as a sport for people with cerebral palsy, but now includes musculardystrophy, spinal cord injuries and other severe physical disabilities. 

Participants at the Championship held over two days
| Photo Credit:
S Shiva Raj

Chennai’s interaction with boccia has been leveraged by Ekta Trust since 2016. “We want to give a reason for people with disabilities to come out of their homes, for leisure and not just education and work. We have been promoting the sport since 2016 by training individuals from across the State for National-level competitions,” explains Sathish Kumar, coordinator, boccia development programme at Chennai-based Ekta Trust. 

Players from Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, and Tenkasi, apart from Chennai, across special schools and community-based rehabilitation projects were in participation at this tournament. 

After a rather long morning of classification of individuals according to the extent of their disabilities (according to the international classification detail), physiotherapists Jefferson Leckler and Simi TA said that one of the most notable aspects this year was increased participation from children.

“Initially, we had more adults playing the game. This year, we have a lot of children and that shows that awareness has increased. We had registrations from children aged nine and 10 years, and there are also people belonging to the age group of 40 and upwards. There are people who buy their own kits, and schools that teach other boccia,” says Simi. Jefferson says that for many players, the sport is no longer a hobby. “Players are actively asking for more time and equipment for practice. They try to adapt their body to touch the ball. This shows the spirit!” he says.

One of the athletes
| Photo Credit:
S Shiva Raj

For any player, taking the interest forward would mean sizable monetary investment. One set of practice balls costs ₹15,000 and a professional set costs around ₹60,000 while other equipment is priced upwards of ₹2.5 lakh. “The other challenges are to find an accessible venue with wooden flooring. We should be provided with more infrastructure. For this tournament, we had to erect a ramp for wheelchair access and an accessible toilet was provided by GCC (Greater Chennai Corporation),” adds Sathish.