RC Pune men reign supreme in wheelchair basketball tourney
PRC Pune Men’s beat Project Mumbai Wheelers 42-4 in the final to take win the one lakh prize money in the first-ever Wheelchair Basketball Premier league held at the YMCA International House at Bombay Central on Sunday.
Wheelchair basketball is a Paralympics event, and the tournament was held to kick-start a program that will identify 1000 wheelchair hoopsters and prepare an Indian team in the future. The Mumbai men had beaten Pune 12-10 at the Mastan YMCA Nagpada on Saturday.
Runners up, the team from Project Mumbai received a prize cheque of Rs 50 thousand.
The Project Mumbai wheelers women’s team got the top slot in the ladies section final, with a narrow 14-12 win beating Project Mumbai Pune Ryder’s. Equal prize money was the highlight ofthis event.
Second runners-up in men, Project Mumbai Pune Ryder’s, walked home with 30 thousand.
Workshops for parents of differently-abled children will be invited for workshops in the coming months to induct them into the Wheelers program. A wider goal of the tournament was to raise awareness about accessibility for differently-abled.
Wheelchair basketball is played on basketball courts the same size as on which regular hoopsters compete. And the height of the hoops is exactly the same. Basic wheelchairs costing Rs 45000 were procured Project Mumbai, though trained players will receive customised wheelers in the coming days.
