IBSA Events

The opening ceremony of the event was held 8 January morning at the Blind Relief Association, New Delhi. Mrs. Radhika Bharat Ram, Chairperson, Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) delivered the welcome address and formally declared the USHA Sports Championship for the Blind open. The 6-day event was organized by the Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) with USHA being the title Sponsor in the premises of the Blind Relief Association, Delhi. The list of our other sponsors is provided as Annexure – I. The event witnessed over 600 participants, including 150 female blind sportspersons from eighteen states. The sports events included 4th IBSA Kabaddi Championships; 7th IBSA Powerlifting Championships; 2nd IBSA Judo Championship; Coaching Camp and Seminar on Blind Sports. For the first time, blind Kabaddi and Judo for females was introduced. The event was inaugurated by Mrs. Radhika Bharat Ram, Chairperson, IBSA.  The following activities were held during the Sports Championships: ➢ Athletics Coaching Camp and Seminar was held parallel to the Championship. In the coaching camp, 34 coaches and athletes from different parts of the country were given special coaching by IBSA Chief Coach and Dronacharya Awardee Dr. Satyapal Singh. Mr G Krishnan, World ParaAthletics Technical Official took a session on athletics competitions, rules and regulations, imperatives of fitness and practical fitness exercises. ➢ The field session was conducted at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium under the guidance of Dr Satyapal and Mr G Krishnan. ➢ Demonstration cum workshop on Goalball was also conducted for the first time. ➢ Lawn Tennis Clinic was conducted by Shri Ramdas Shivhare, who learned Lawn Tennis for blind from Japan while he was undergoing one year Leadership Training in Japan. The participants were introduced to the rules and techniques of the game. This was followed by practical session to give theparticipants a hand-on experience. ➢ Ms Alayna Aisha, Life Skills Teacher cum Counsellor held 2 Workshops on MindTraining for Success in Sports to highlight how having a focused mind in a sport/game is crucial for winning. ➢ Practical fitness sessions were also held for the participants. ➢ Session on sports injury, warm-up and cooling down was held by Ms. Takako Kitahara, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOVC) at National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD), Dehradun. Over 40 participants including instructors from various states attended the session. ➢ A special demonstration cum workshop on Frisbee, new game for theBlind, was conducted by Ms. Amita Chadha and her team highlighting Frisbee as a tool to break through the barriers of gender and disability biases. The closing ceremony was held in the premises of the Blind Relief Association on 13 January 2018. Ms Chhaya Shriram, Chief Guest gave away the Championship Trophies to the winners. In her speech she lauded the participation of women in the Championships and introduction of Women Kabaddi for the first time by Indian Blind Sports Association. She encouraged the players to continue improving their performance and skill and never give up any opportunity to display their talent. All the IBSA management committee members and members of BRA Management committee were present at the closing ceremony. Delivering the vote of thanks, General Secretary Mr. A. David appreciated the performance of the athletes in the Meet and thanked all the sportspersons and supporting technical officials, volunteers, services of Sant Nirankari Charitable Foundation and the staff of The Blind Relief Association in making the event a grand success. He acknowledged with gratitude the sponsors, donors, and others for supporting the cause of blind sports.