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RDT joined hands with Special Olympics Bharat to celebrate Intl. Day of Persons with Disabilities 2017
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The third South Asia Unified Cricket Tournament was held on 2- 3 December, 2017 with Special Olympics teams from Bangladesh, Serendib (Sri Lanka) and India. The tournament was organised by Special Olympics Bharat (SOB) in partnership with Rural Development Trust (RDT), Anantapur at its Anantapur Sports Village (ASV). The tournament was a joint effort by Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Lions Clubs International and Aruna Abhey Oswal Trust

This was the third edition of the tournament, with the previous two been held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2014 and 2016. The objective behind this tournament was to showcase persons with and without Intellectual Disabilities (ID) to team up and play together.

“RDT is privileged to welcome all the special athletes to South Asia Unified Cricket Tournament. A rare occasion for the inclusion for integration – A global village, crossing barriers and carrying a spirit of unity.” says Moncho Ferrer, Programme Director, RDT.    

The rules of this game were designed in such a way that each player got equal opportunity to bat and bowl. This was accomplished by pairing persons with and without Intellectual disabilities to play maximum of two overs. Interesting rule in this form of cricket was the batsmen could get out as many as 6 times in an over and the total team score was the average of total runs by total wickets. A total of 4 matches were played over two days and Bangladesh won the tournament after two successive wins against India and Sri Lanka.

It was a great feeling to play with players from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and to bond with them”, says opening batsman Pravat Bharal the Special Athlete from India who dreams to represent his team in Special Olympics, World Games.

Alongside the competitions, all participating Special Athletes were screened for ‘Fit Feet and Health Promotion’ on 2-3 December in the Judo Indoor hall. Addressing the need for involvement of families of children with special needs, an awareness-drive on ‘Hygiene & Sanitation & Intellectual Disability’ was organised on 3 December 2017, which coincides with International Day of Persons with Disability.

The third South Asia Special Olympics Unified Cricket Tournament was a great display of inclusive sports and an excellent platform for people with and without disabilities to come together, to challenge commonly held misconceptions about disabilities. More of similar ‘Unified Sports’ tournaments are required to help address people with disabilities to demonstrate their capacities and to provide an opportunity to interact and socialise.

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