Wheelchair basketball players shoot to win
BANGKOK — An explosion tore through Nilofar Bayat’s leg when she was just two, but as she spins her wheelchair across a basketball court in Bangkok, the Afghan sportswoman is determined to turn her story from tragedy to triumph.
The 23-year-old captain of the Afghan women’s wheelchair basketball team is in Thailand this week in a bid to qualify for the Asian Para Games for the first time.
“This is a big job. When I come, I represent Afghanistan in other countries. I want to show that Afghanistan is not just Taliban,” said Bayat, who lost her brother in the same attack that resulted in the loss of her leg.
Her life reflects the squad’s remarkable journey against a backdrop of unrelenting violence.
When the International Committee for the Red Cross set up its wheelchair basketball program in Afghanistan some eight years ago, the goal wasn’t to win competitions.
Instead, the chief aim was to provide fitness and rehab in a country with a large disabled population — many of whom, like Bayat, lost their limbs in attacks.
Other victims have suffered polio, with Afghanistan one of just three nations where the disease retains a grip, due to the disruption of health services and the Taliban’s opposition to vaccination.
Belying the game’s humble start in Afghanistan, the players are out to show that they can triumph against formidable odds, making their international debut in Indonesia last year.
They dominated the field and took home the championship trophy.
“Our first tournament was so good, when we played and we got the first position it was amazing for Afghanistan,” Bayat recalled.
Meanwhile, the Afghan men’s team passed a major milestone in Thailand this week with their first official tournament win outside the country.
Jess Markt, a US citizen who coaches the teams, said many players had never even seen a basketball when he first arrived in the country.
“And now, several years later we are at the point where we have men’s and women’s national teams that are becoming quite skilled,” he said.
Introduced to basketball only three years ago, Sayed Wasim Sadat said the sport had lifted his spirits and transformed his life.
“I feel lots of changes in my body and my life because now I am so active. Before ... I don’t like to go (anywhere),” the 21-year-old said after a friendly warm-up game in a sweltering gym outside Bangkok.
“Now I enjoy my life,” he said.