New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) Special Olympics Bharat (SOB), the national federation promoting sports for athletes with intellectual disabilities, has announced a 16-member squad that will represent the country in the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Bocce and Bowling Competition, to be held from November 18 to 22 here at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex. The squad consists of eight athletes each for both Bocce and Bowling, along with eight coaches who will assist them.

The men’s Bocce squad comprises Kabir Pritam Baruah, Ebenezer David, Wilfred Dsouza, and Devansh Agarwal and will be coached by P.Arun and S.Anandan while the Women’s squad will see Priyanka, Manjula, Purnima Madan and G. Subhashini take the field. The team will be under the tutelage of Mamta and Pushpa Tripathi.

The Indian women’s bowling team will have Neha Singh, Simran Pujara, Shraddha Patel, and Susri Sangeeta Nayak representing the side in the prestigious event and will be coached by Shafali Gupta and Anupama Singh. Meanwhile, the men’s team will be represented by Ibhanan Sahu, Ankit, Prakash Veghela and Nirupam Dey. Akshat Sharma and Ileshbhai Raval will be the coaches of the side.

Sharing her thoughts on the squad announcement, Dr. Mallika Nadda, President, SOB, said, “I am immensely proud to announce the Indian squad for the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Bocce and Bowling Competition. This team embodies the spirit of perseverance and dedication that defines our athletes. Each member brings not only skill and determination but also the unwavering belief that inclusion and empowerment can transform lives.

"As we prepare for this competition, I encourage everyone to rally behind our athletes, celebrating their achievements and inspiring a world where everyone has the opportunity to shine. I also wish all the athletes and the coaches to give their best in the competition,” she said.

The Special Olympics Asia Pacific Bocce and Bowling Competition is the first of its kind on a global scale to be held in India. It will focus on older athletes with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) aged 22 or above.

The competition will offer unique opportunities for the often-underserved age group whose participation in sports typically declines as they get older.

More than 100 athletes from 12 Special Olympics Programmes, including the likes of Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh besides India, are set to participate in the competition. It also marks a historic first for Special Olympics Bharat (SOB) as it introduces bowling as a competitive sport for Special athletes, in partnership with the Tenpin Federation of India.