Pune,11th June 2022: The Hindu Mahila Sabha felicitated eight blind girls and their coach Vikram Singh who brought laurels playing for Maharashtra in the national football tournament organized by the Indian Blind Football Federation in May. The Sabha honoured the girls and the coach at Mai Bal Bhavan by presenting them with certificates of appreciation.

Supriya Damle, President, Hindu Mahila Sabha said, “The success achieved by the girls of Mai Bal Bhavan in the national football tournament is really commendable. In any field or sports, ‘eye contact’ with one’s teammate is necessary, without which coordination is difficult. How exactly did they achieve this? That’s what I wanted to ask their coaches. They said that there’s special football for blind players during which they use a ‘ghungroo’. Based on the sound of ghungroo, players can identify the direction. At the same time, these players constantly shout “Y”. That way, they can tell if the player closest to them is in their team or in a rival team and coordinate accordingly. The coach who blindfolded them before the tournament understood their behaviour and coached them accordingly. We decided to honour these girls and their coach on behalf of the organization. ”

Executive members of the organization including Yashshree Athavle, Madhura Joglekar, Prachi Sapre, Smita Natu, Mrunal Godbole, Trupti Kaisere, Sunita Abhyankar, Sudha Rajguru and Madhukar Ingle, Director of Mai Bal bhavan, his daughter and co-director Ruchira Ingle were present on this occasion.
Source: https://www.punekarnews.in/pune-visually-impaired-girls-felicitated-for-winning-national-football-tournament/