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Cambodias National Disabled Volleyball Team Have Their Eyes on 1 Spot
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The Cambodian National Volleyball League (Disabled) (CNVLD) is the only national team to hold a world ranking.

Currently ranked third in the world behind Germany and Slovakia, Cambodia are aiming for the number one spot.

This is the goal CNVLD founder and secretary general Christopher Minko, has for the team.

Minko is an Australian who moved to Cambodia in 1996 with the aim of developing disability sports in a nation devastated by the ongoing impacts of war.

Cambodia has one of the highest rates of disability in the world with close to 658 000 people being affected by disability. However, this is nowhere near the number of people affected by the Khmer Rouge during their reign from 1970-1979, with the impact of this regime continuing today in the form of undetonated landmines.

The UN has estimated that there are between 4-6 million landmines which are undetonated and in 2008 alone these caused 841 casualties.

Chimm Phan, a star player for CNVLD was a victim of one of these mines while on a fishing trip. The incident resulted in the loss of the lower portion of his leg. However, Phan has a very positive outlook regarding his disability , “I have found I can do everything an able-bodied person can do, and even better”.

This is a mindset shared by many of the players involved in the league and according to Minko is a testament to the healing power of sport. He believes that sport not only helps with the physical healing process, but also contributes to the psychological recovery of those injured.

Minko also believes that the CNVLD has helped people move on from the atrocities of the past. To emphasise this he explains, ‘In fact, the majority of CNVLD athletes are ex-military from all sides – from ex-Khmer Rouge to Royalists to government soldiers.

In this instance volleyball is paving the way to the formation of a united Cambodia.

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