Special Olympics 3×3 basketball team ready for World Games

The players of the 3×3 Special Olympics Namibia basketball team are hard at work preparing for their first-ever Special Olympics World Summer Games to be held in Berlin, Germany later this year.

The Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 will be the 16th Special Olympics edition and will see over 7 000 athletes from approximately 170 countries compete in 24 sports codes in Berlin from 17 to 25 June 2023.

Namibia will have athletes competing in 3×3 basketball, cycling and athletics (marathon).

In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, 3×3 Special Olympics Namibia basketball team head coach James Mukuwa said the team has been hard at work for four years and is looking forward to the games.

“We had a big group of players that have been training with us but due to difficulties such as the lack of funding and resources, the team has been reduced. We are positive the players who remained in the team are dedicated to representing their country against the best in their categories,” he said.

Mukuwa added that the time spent training over the past years will be displayed at the World Games in Berlin.

“When these players joined the team they could not even bounce the ball but with hard work, they are ready to showcase their skills as they have not had competitive games all these years apart from the friendly games they compete in with teams at the training ground,” Mukuwa said.

The coach also said despite the difficulties the team has faced over the year, he is always happy to see the athletes turn up for training.

“Some of these boys don’t live in Windhoek and those who stay in Windhoek stay far from the training ground, but despite the challenges we have been training every week thanks to the support from the Basketball Arts School, who has given us space on their courts to train,” he said.

The Special Olympics World Games will provide a global platform to showcase the talent of people with intellectual disabilities but Mukawa said he hopes after these games the athletes will be accorded the opportunity to compete internationally.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

RECENT POST