Madagascar marks 25 years of para-sport

In 2014, there will be national multi-sport championships held in the country. 01 Apr 2014 By IPC

Madagascar Paralympic Committee

In May of 2014, Madagascar can look back at 25 years of practicing para-sport.

One particular athlete, Malakia Willy, was one of the very first and is still involved with sport to this day.

At the beginning, they practiced wheelchair basketball hidden from the public. After three months of regular practice, they decided to organise a demonstration match in a sports hall in the capital city to which they invited parents and family members of the players as well as journalists.

The sports hall was almost full with people attending a wheelchair basketball match for the very first time. The referee gave the signal. Something unusual then happened on the court. Willy, being the captain of one team, started to shed tears that he quickly got under control to be able to start playing. When the break came, he was approached and asked why he had been crying.

He answered: “Oh, it’s a big moment for me as, since I realised my existence and my impairment, I never thought to find myself on a basketball court, playing and being watched by lots of spectators until my death, but now it’s the opposite, and thinking about it I got very emotional, that’s it. Myself, I always thought to be a spectator for my entire life, not an actor as I am today.”

Willy’s story is lived by all players on the field. Now he has become a big wheelchair basketball player. His club won the “Coupes des Clubs Champions Handisport de l'Océan Indien” twice consecutively. On top of that, the team was the national champions in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

In 2014, there will be national multi-sport championships in his hometown. The event’s sports are wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, table tennis, petanque and sitting volleyball (demonstration sport).

To mark the United Nations International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, the development arm of the IPC, the Agitos Foundation, is publishing stories where sport has helped to change lives or societies as part of the ChangeMakers campaign.

Until 13 April, stories will be posted on Paralympic.org and on the Agitos Foundation’s newly launched Facebook and Twitter pages.

Like or follow them to keep up to date with the latest news on the development of para-sport.

To mark the United Nations International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, the development arm of the IPC, the Agitos Foundation, is publishing stories where sport has helped to change lives or societies as part of the ChangeMakers campaign.

From 30 March until 13 April, stories will be posted on Paralympic.org and on the Agitos Foundation’s newly launched Facebook and Twitter pages.

Like or follow them to keep up to date with the latest news on the development of para-sport.

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