The Indian Army and the Voluntary Medicare Society (VMS) organised sporting events for para-athletes at Lachipora Boniyar in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.
Wheelchair Basketball matches and sitting Volleyball matches were held as a part of this initiative themed "Promotion of Health, Rights and Social Integration for Para Athletes".
VMS, established in 1970, has been serving the cause of para-athletes for the last five decades.
Commending the sheer willpower and enthusiasm of the participants for whom their physical limitations were not an obstacle to their desire to excel in sports, the Commanding Officer, Lachipora Battalion said, "Do not count what is lost, but rather use whatever is left to the fullest. We appreciate their efforts and I am sure that they will motivate others to come out of their troubles and become champions."
"What these para-athletes did today is a result of their hard work and determination. I hope they will inspire more people, help people with similar issues come out of their isolation and depression. I am thankful to VMS and other members of the civil organisation, media persons. It will help promote the sport and provide psychological support to those going through similar situations as these para-athletes," he added.
The participants were extremely happy with the event and lauded the initiative of the Army and VMS.
Insha, a participant said, "We are thankful to the army for such events, we need more events like this. It felt good to play here after so long after COVID. Such events should be organised to motivate para-athletes. I hope Kashmir develops and grows more in sports in the years to come."
"I am extremely grateful to everyone who organised this event. Government and private entities should provide us more facilities like this in every district so that we can also practice and make our nation and Kashmir proud," said another participant, Farooq.
Another participant named Shabir praised the initiative and urged the specially-abled people to come out and play so that they are physically fit.
Harvinder Singh, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Uri was also impressed with the performances of the para-athletes.
"Today, I saw these differently-abled players playing and realised what ability truly is. Sure, it takes a lot of time to recover from a setback but if one wants, we can recover from every setback and perform well," he said.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor