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PANAJI: Even before the teacher can blow his whistle, Pragati Kankonkar starts her run, dribbling past cones that are lined-up ahead of her at the School for Appropriate Learning in the city.
It’s been too long—16 months to be precise—that Kankonkar has been stuck indoors, unable to meet friends and play her favourite sport. When she’s finally handed the chance, it’s understandable that the special athlete can’t wait to get started.
“It feels good to be playing again. We were at home for such a long time. Now that there are finally sporting activities (in school), this makes us happy,” said Kankonkar, who did well to move into the next stage of the virtual football tournament, organised by Special Olympics Goa.
At the school hall, there were other students with special needs trying to catch the selectors’ attention, while Rupesh Gadekar, the physical education teacher, put them through the paces.
In the end, Majulla Pillamar, Gayatri Amonkar and Nooriza Aga also made the cut, not an easy task given that Goa’s special athletes are fiercely competitive and have won plenty of medals at the international level, including the biggest of them all, Special Olympics.
“I wasn’t easy for the parents as well to have children indoors,” said Gadekar, the school teacher, explaining how the Covid-19 pandemic took away the little joys that the special children experienced in schools. “We have about 49 students here and half of them are into sports. When activities stopped, it became difficult for everyone. Now they are finally playing again.”
Halt in sports activities due to Covid-19 has meant children with special needs are the hardest hit. Goa has approximately 14,000 special children with at least 5,000 of them involved in sports through Special Olympics.
The last 16 months have left the children vulnerable.
“Before the lockdown, I was happily playing football and taking part in tournaments. But since the lockdown last year, I can neither meet my friends nor play football,” said Joel Rodrigues, a student from the Sanjay School in Porvorim.
These are not ordinary students. They are champions who have done spectacularly at the Special Olympics World Games, which take place every two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games.
At last count, Goa’s athletes had won 31 gold, 20 silver and 24 bronze medals at the Special Olympics Summer Games, between 1991 and 2019, while the Winter count from 2009 till 2017 was nine gold, three silver and one bronze medal.
When the Winter Games are held next year in Kazan, Russia, and thousands of athletes compete for top honours, Goans will be missing in action.
“Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we couldn’t send anyone for the trials in Himachal Pradesh,” said Victor Vaz who heads Special Olympics Goa.
“Nobody could attend the trials because parents were just too scared to send their children outside the state in the middle of the pandemic. India will have a contingent at the Games, starting January 22 next year, but there will not be any Goan athlete,” said Vaz, also national sports director of Special Olympics Bharat.
The organisation uses sports as a catalyst to transform the lives of children and adults with special needs. They’ve done it since 1991 but Covid-19 has thrown a spanner in their works and put up challenges never faced before.
“It’s very frustrating, demotivating. However hard I may try, I just cannot reach my athlete. There is lot of mental tension among the parents. The children are restless at home,” said Vaz.
The parents have no choice.
True, everyone understands the need for children to go out there and play. But with Covid-19 spreading its tentacles everywhere, nobody wants to leave anything to chance.
“The fear is so strong that nobody wants to send their children out. Our children have comorbidities, so they are most vulnerable. If there is any incident (of Covid outbreak), we will not be able to forgive ourselves,” said Vaz.
Vaz thought about all possibilities and then devised a new plan. If the children couldn’t train or play together, he took the game to them, virtually.
First up was virtual cricket where children were asked to shoot videos of their skills like bowling and batting. Some like Sanjay School in Porvorim and St Xavier’s Academy, Old Goa, even got the children together in batches.
It worked. There was some excitement and soon enough virtual football kicked off. It is now proving to be an even bigger hit.
Nowhere was it more evident than at the School for Appropriate Learning in Panaji where children shot at targets lined up five metres away, dribbled past cones, juggled the ball and looked the happiest in 16 months.
It’s been too long—16 months to be precise—that Kankonkar has been stuck indoors, unable to meet friends and play her favourite sport. When she’s finally handed the chance, it’s understandable that the special athlete can’t wait to get started.
“It feels good to be playing again. We were at home for such a long time. Now that there are finally sporting activities (in school), this makes us happy,” said Kankonkar, who did well to move into the next stage of the virtual football tournament, organised by Special Olympics Goa.
At the school hall, there were other students with special needs trying to catch the selectors’ attention, while Rupesh Gadekar, the physical education teacher, put them through the paces.
In the end, Majulla Pillamar, Gayatri Amonkar and Nooriza Aga also made the cut, not an easy task given that Goa’s special athletes are fiercely competitive and have won plenty of medals at the international level, including the biggest of them all, Special Olympics.
“I wasn’t easy for the parents as well to have children indoors,” said Gadekar, the school teacher, explaining how the Covid-19 pandemic took away the little joys that the special children experienced in schools. “We have about 49 students here and half of them are into sports. When activities stopped, it became difficult for everyone. Now they are finally playing again.”
Halt in sports activities due to Covid-19 has meant children with special needs are the hardest hit. Goa has approximately 14,000 special children with at least 5,000 of them involved in sports through Special Olympics.
The last 16 months have left the children vulnerable.
“Before the lockdown, I was happily playing football and taking part in tournaments. But since the lockdown last year, I can neither meet my friends nor play football,” said Joel Rodrigues, a student from the Sanjay School in Porvorim.
These are not ordinary students. They are champions who have done spectacularly at the Special Olympics World Games, which take place every two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games.
At last count, Goa’s athletes had won 31 gold, 20 silver and 24 bronze medals at the Special Olympics Summer Games, between 1991 and 2019, while the Winter count from 2009 till 2017 was nine gold, three silver and one bronze medal.
When the Winter Games are held next year in Kazan, Russia, and thousands of athletes compete for top honours, Goans will be missing in action.
“Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we couldn’t send anyone for the trials in Himachal Pradesh,” said Victor Vaz who heads Special Olympics Goa.
“Nobody could attend the trials because parents were just too scared to send their children outside the state in the middle of the pandemic. India will have a contingent at the Games, starting January 22 next year, but there will not be any Goan athlete,” said Vaz, also national sports director of Special Olympics Bharat.
The organisation uses sports as a catalyst to transform the lives of children and adults with special needs. They’ve done it since 1991 but Covid-19 has thrown a spanner in their works and put up challenges never faced before.
“It’s very frustrating, demotivating. However hard I may try, I just cannot reach my athlete. There is lot of mental tension among the parents. The children are restless at home,” said Vaz.
The parents have no choice.
True, everyone understands the need for children to go out there and play. But with Covid-19 spreading its tentacles everywhere, nobody wants to leave anything to chance.
“The fear is so strong that nobody wants to send their children out. Our children have comorbidities, so they are most vulnerable. If there is any incident (of Covid outbreak), we will not be able to forgive ourselves,” said Vaz.
Vaz thought about all possibilities and then devised a new plan. If the children couldn’t train or play together, he took the game to them, virtually.
First up was virtual cricket where children were asked to shoot videos of their skills like bowling and batting. Some like Sanjay School in Porvorim and St Xavier’s Academy, Old Goa, even got the children together in batches.
It worked. There was some excitement and soon enough virtual football kicked off. It is now proving to be an even bigger hit.
Nowhere was it more evident than at the School for Appropriate Learning in Panaji where children shot at targets lined up five metres away, dribbled past cones, juggled the ball and looked the happiest in 16 months.
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