Visually impaired girls train in table tennis in Pune

Considered a game of handeye coordination can one imagine visually impaired persons playing table tennis Even as cricket for the visually impaired is taking off in the countrymdashwith balls being rolled on the ground and not bouncedmdash40 girls in Pune have been trained to play the sport with the help of former international players based in the city The visually impaired girls from Jagruti School in Alandi are now aiming to play against sighted players in a competitive formatnext monthAlso ReadUS Open Rafael Nadal gets walkover Alexander Zverev prevails againThe initiative has been started by Bhushan Thakur 41 and his wife Aarti 38 Both exnational players visited the school for a Rotary event in June 2018 While interacting with the students Thakur asked if anyone would like to play table tennis Several hands went up With cricket being the only sport they play this was a welcome offerRestless with enthusiasm the Thakurs spent time wondering how to teach the visually impaired the game The biggest factor was to understand the bounce of the ball It had to be light but heavy enough to be heard Says Aarti The ball would have to allow the girls to locate its position by the sound Despite researching and searching we didnt find a ball that would be appropriate Then we took to experimenting by shutting our eyes and playing the game We modified the ball by inserting lead balls or but then the height of the bounce was not appropriate We continued to experiment with other materials and finally settled down with lightweight pearlsThe girls will soon compete against sighted playersThe Thakurs run a nonprofit Love All Sports Foundation With the core aim of developing sports and sportspersons at the grassroots level the foundation helps schools and academies better their infrastructure and also help talented sportsperson avail financeAarti adds Being able to listen to the ball locate it using their sense of hearing and swing at the precise moment is not an easy task But we were amazed at the girls skills They quickly grasped the idea and confidently started playing They even learnt how to serve and return the ball within a few sessionsAlso ReadVisually impaired Mumbai student debates his way to world tourney winBhushan said Another difficulty was ensuring that the ball stayed within the reach of the players Before playing we taught them how to toss the ball Its easy for sighted players to pick the ball up if they miss while tossing However for visually impaired players its an added task We wanted to make sure that they didnt lose interest if all they did was spend time searching and locating the ball on the floor To overcome this issue we came with a simple but effective idea We glued a string to the ball and tied another end to players fingers Then it became easier for players as they just need to pull the string and get their hands on the ballThe Thakurs also tied the ball to the table so that the players didnt have to rely on others to hand over the ball They could just go to the side of the table locate the string to which the ball is attached The training classes are now conducted every SaturdayRadhika Kadav 13 from Karad says All we used to play is cricket We are fascinated with games like table tennis badminton thanks to the big names in the field Initially we found it difficult to hit the ball but managed to do so within few sessions I too want to represent my country and play for India Playing a sport that others play as well is a big boost to selfesteem says Washim girl Vaibhavi GawaliRavi Kapoor from the Rotary Club adds that the club will support four schools in sports activities Two of them are for speciallyabled kids one is a rural school in Shirur taluka and one would be an established school in Pune We want to promote the sport in every segment The schools spokesperson Sakina Bedi also visually impaired says The girls have improved a and their appetite for sports has increased40No of girls who are currently being trainedCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates