Monday, July 03, 2006

A beautiful game for special kids

Patna: World Cup football is inspiring a very special bunch of boys to pick up the beautiful game.
More than 200 specially-abled children from 24 districts in Bihar are participating in a tournament organised by the Para-Olympics committee of Bihar.
And they have come up with their innovative ways to play the game.
One of the boys who dribbled the ball while playing a football match was Iqbal Hussain.
Iqbal suffers from polio and cannot walk without crutches but that does not mean that without a little innovation, he cannot sweat it out for his team.
"We don't want people to ask what we are capable of. We want them to say, is there anything these children cannot do? We can play very well and better with Government encouragement," says he.
The World Cup football in Germany has inspired Iqbal and many young guns to give their best shot on the field. They too dream big for their country.
"When we see players like Ronaldo, we are encouraged to play and win for Bihar and India," says another specially-abled footballer, Deepak.
The more than 200 physically challenged boys from 24 districts of Bihar, who participated in the tournament, may never grow up to become like Ronaldo or Beckham but the event has instilled a lot of confidence in them.
And what makes them special is their ability to keep trying. They are sending out a message that despite all odds they can stand up for themselves and even play the beautiful game.

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