Mysuru: Four girls from city are taking part in the national-level wheelchair basketball championship being held at Hyderabad from Sunday last.

A total of 12 players have been selected to represent the State in the tournament among which four players — S. Sunitha, T. Sujatha, K. Kanchana and P. Dhanamma — from Mysuru have been selected to represent the team.

The four players, all alumni of JSS Polytechnic for Speically-abled, were also donated  with sports wheelchairs by Masoom Trust under the aegis of M.K. Agrotech, Srirangapatna recently.

The girls are currently being trained under Girish, Baskestball Coach, Department of Youth Services and Sports, who has been training them free of cost. For these girls it is a dream come true for having been representing the country.

“It is for the first time that the Karnataka women’s team is taking part in the Nationals and it is also the first time that I have coached these girls. It is a new experience for me as well,” said Girish, the coach.

The coaching methodology to these girls is different compared to normal players. And for Girish, it has also been a new experience since he had to prepare new drills to train the girls, who can only work with their upper bodies. The girls, who have been working at an Ad agency inside the SJCE campus, practiced for about two-and-a-half hours every day while they prepared for the big event.

The JSS Mahavidyapeetha had also given them special permission to utilise the basketball courts on the SJCE campus along with the floodlights. Such initiatives by organisations will go a long way in helping talented specially-abled to display their talents not only in sports but in other fields as well.