A fighter pilot destined for greatness and meant for touching the skies. A cricket bat. A massive love for the game that happens to be our India’s lifeline. And the foundation of the Wheelchair Cricket India.
Just what could be the possible connection between three very different aspects?
The answer is the common link that binds them all, an Indian whose name you probably should hear a lot more and with an immense sense of respect: Squadron Leader Abhai Pratap Singh (retd.)
For someone whose very reason for existence was the intrepid love for serving his nation, life for Squadron Leader Abhai Pratap Singh was all about the Indian Air Force, one of the most distinct forces dedicated to India’s first line of defence.
But then came an ill-fated injury, an incident so life-transforming that the brave patriot whose second nature was to reach the skies was relegate to the wheelchair.
This was 2007, a year most remembered for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup that took place back in the Caribbean. It would be the great legend Brian Lara and the champion Inzamam-ul-Haq’s final ever cricketing outing in their respective nation’s gears.
However, the unfortunate incident in 2007, regardless of it being a complete heartbreaker, didn’t mean that things would stop for Squadron Leader Abhai Pratap Singh sir. Once a daring and great man, always a daring and great man.
He would do something so spectacular and worth noting that it would give those who constantly complain and crib in life a lot to think about.
However, here’s a painful episode that Squadron Leader Abhai Pratap Singh sir endured that would eventually pave way for the foundation of Wheelchair Cricket in our country:
The self-driven man once posted at the Hasimara Air Force Station (close to Bhutan) in 2004, a time where his mother was suffering from Liver Cancer decided back in the day to relocate to the noted Bakshi-ka-Talab air force station, near Lucknow. All of this was in a bid to be there for his ailing mother. He would shift places and stay there until 2007.
But as luck would have it, upon his mother’s passing when he resumed regular duty at Hasimara, where the gentleman was originally posted, he had an accident. It was a deadly one. A friend passed away on spot while Squadron Leader Abhai Pratap Singh ji was left paralysed.
He would soon receive treatment and rehabilitation, first at the Command Hospital in Lucknow and later on, at the Paraplegic Rehab Centre in Pune.
It was there where he met other patients who were playing basketball and keeping themselves active. A few years later, circa 2014, Squadron Leader Abhai Pratap Singh, upon immense deliberation began something so important that marked a second or new lease of life for the man whose philosophy is based on the Impossible-Is-Nothing Mantra.
The germination of the Wheelchair Cricket in India was laid down in 2014. Though its eventual founding would happen in 2016, yet another year where the besotted cricket fan was served a delicacy in the form of a Virat Kohli special against Pakistan and later, Australia in the T20 World Cup held that year in India.
But several miles away from the hot and trending world of the T20 World Cup event, one man had already found, diligently and arduously, the UP Wheelchair cricket team. He was one of the founding members of a Wheelchair cricket team that to this day, remains one of the most successful sides in the country.
As a matter of factly, one of the most underrated facts in world cricket to this day is the very thing that in 2016, there was a key India Nepal Wheelchair cricket match that occurred. The man who earned the “Player-Of-The-Match” on that occasion was none other than Squadron Leader Abhai Pratap Singh Ji.
Two years later, in 2018, he’d find the prestigious Wheelchair Cricket Association, a proper sports body that not only gives a chance to aspiring wheelchair-bound athletes to play the game but also serves as a large rehabilitation facility. It is under the aegis of the Wheelchair Cricket Association in India that athletes get not just national but international opportunities to play cricket in this distinct and highly competitive form.
But ultimately, it’s thanks to the tireless leadership and rigorous work put in by Shri Abhai Pratap Singh that the Wheelchair Cricket Association of India that Wheelchair Cricket has grown, developed and risen as a structured and competitive sport in the country.
His tireless efforts towards advocacy of Wheelchair Cricket in India and towards sports inclusivity and accessibility have given a fresh new meaning to the concept of Wheelchair cricket.
In the end, we must pay ample thought to the following
“Disability is just a challenge. If we begin believing in ourselves, one can make everything possible”
True words from the retired Indian Airforce officer.
This is a phrase that carries life and hope for all those who persist despite being struck with the overwhelming challenge of being wheelchair-relegated.
This isn’t to prophesies but fact is that there will be good times and then, bad times. But the wheel of life, it ought to be remembered, is one that rests on us and our deeds to change the course of our destiny, forever.
Today there are multiple and properly structured Wheelchair cricket teams in India, such as the Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Kanyakumari, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab chapters or editions.
What’s more? There are no fewer than 19 state associations that happen to be affiliated with the Indian Wheelchair Cricket Association, the sport’s apex body.
And while its totally understandable to remain glued to the IPL screens and every little move made by the famed Indian Cricket team, what’s also a bit relevant is to know the name of the Indian Wheelchair Cricket team’s captain, isn’t it?
Somjeet Singh and Shiva Prasad happen to be the captain and vice-captain of the Indian contingent, respectively.
If you find time, then you must dwell into their journeys and moving tales.
Talented players like Rahul Ramugade have made useful and vital contributions to the Indian cricket team, inarguably, the best from Mumbai where it comes to the Wheelchair Cricket team from the Maharashtra region.
Globally, there are Wheelchair cricket teams in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with the sport also catching up in diverse geographies such as the UAE.
And what’s rather fascinating is that soon, this year itself, there’s going to the first-ever Wheelchair Cricket World Cup, slated to take place in the UAE. More information on that is to follow.
Watch this space for more and here’s saluting the precious diamonds of the Wheelchair cricket establishment in India whose lives are true to the moniker of never giving up! May the best happen to them, always.
