Ludhiana, April 29
Members of the Punjab cricket team (visually impaired) returned yesterday from a week-long tour of Pakistan. Despite losing the five-match series against Pakistan Punjab XI, the boys were full of confidence that they had performed well. They attributed their defeat to the fact that the Pakistan Punjab team had national players. We gained experience of playing in an international tournament which would boost our confidence, they added.
Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Gurpreet Singh Machhiwara, captain of the team and general secretary of the Punjab Sports Association for the Blind (PSAB), said the visually impaired players had brought fame to the state and the country by winning accolades in various tournaments in India and abroad without getting any government help. He urged the stat government to recognise the PSAB and extend assistance.
Gurpreet said despite promises made from time to time by the government to promote sports in the state, they (visually impaired) never received any assistance from the authorities. “We undertook the tour to the neighbouring country on our own, with contributions only from the SGPC president, Mr Avtar Singh, and certain promoters. Nobody from the district adminstration or sports associations came forward to help us,” he rued.
Giving details of the tour, Gurpreet said the Pakistan Punjab team had national players like Abdul Razaq (captain), Ashraf Bhatti, Yoshin Malik, Fiaz Ahmed in its ranks. He praised the Pakistan authorities for making excellent arrangements for the players.
Gurpreet picked up Gurbir Singh, Rajinder Singh Cheema, Manvinder Singh, Parminder Singh and Salinder Singh for their stupendous performance and expressed hope that these lads had great potential to perform in international tournaments.
