New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur on Monday felicitated the Indian blind cricket team following its triumph in the T20 World Cup for the Blind for the 3rd consecutive time last Saturday.
The Indian team, which scored an emphatic 120 runs win against Bangladesh in the final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, arrived in the national capital on Monday.
Thakur was joined by Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Nisith Pramanik, Mahantesh GK, President, Cricket Association for the Blind (CABI) as well as other dignitaries from the Department of Sports, MYAS, CABI and the Sports Authority of India.
Addressing the gathering, Thakur said, "It has been the endeavour of the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide all our athletes with the best of support, especially our divyang athletes. I assure all support to the members of the team even more and address various challenges coming their way."
Acknowledging the support of the family members of the blind cricket team, the Hon'ble Minister added, "All the family members associated with the players have put enormous support. Had it not been for the support of the families, most of the players may not have made it to the Indian team."
The Indian blind cricket team skipper Ajay Kumar Reddy said, "The constant support from the Union Sports Ministry encourages us to perform with far more intent. There is tremendous hard work behind winning and lots of hurdles. However, after going on the ground, we don't think about anything but our Indian flag. Not our obstacles. We have won 5 World Cups now and are confident to win more."
The Indian national blind cricket team which won the T20 World Cup 2022 consisted of 17 players from 10 States. Among them, 6 players are from the B1 category (fully blind), 5 players from the B2 category (partially blind) and 6 from the B3 category (eye vision up to 6 metres). The Indian team beat Pakistan for the T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2017.