The send-off ceremony for the Odisha quartet, held here at Unit-VI Boys’ High School ground, was graced by State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Dr Minati Behera; SSEPD Department Joint Secretary, Debaprasad Dash; State Assistant Sports Director, Akhil Bihari Das; Odisha blind cricket star Mohammad Jafar Iqbal, woman adventure sports exponent Arpita Mohapatra, SOBO Area Director Prakash K Rath and Unit-VI Athletic Association secretary Dilip Kumar Das.

Odisha athletes Sarita Routray and Sonali Pradhan will compete in floor hockey and floorball respectively. This will be the second successive Special Olympics for Sarita, who won one gold medal in unified beach volleyball event of the 2015 World Summer Games, held in Los Angeles, USA. Sasmita Mohapatra and Swagatika Parida have been selected as the coaches of the national floor hockey and floorball teams respectively.

An estimated 2,700 Special Olympics athletes from 107 nations expected to assemble in Austria for the World Winter Games. A spectacular Opening Ceremony at the Stadium Planai in Schladming will signal the beginning of eight days of sporting extravaganza on March 18.

According to SOBO Area Director P K Rath, Special Olympics Bharat team has been participating at the World Winter Games since 1993. India started its journey with 12 athletes and five coaches in Austria and returned with one gold medal. India’s medal count increased rapidly, reaching 75 including 28 gold, 31 silver and 16 bronze with participation of 59 athletes at the previous Special Olympic World Winter Games, held in South Korea in 2013.

Throwing lights on the facilities or lack of it in Odisha for Winter Games, the SOBO Area Director said: ``Even though the events and disciplines of the Winter Games are usually played in the higher reaches in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir, we have chosen a few ones that can be played indoors. These are floorball and floor hockey which are high skill sports and require a lot of speed and stamina. Over the years, we have been able to identify and groom talents in these games which show in our athletes being selected to represent the country against all odds. A lot of effort has been put by our committed coaches and organisors, and the families have been supportive even though they are from the economically weaker sections.

``SOB-Odisha has always tried to provide the best possible facilities and services to its athletes, coaches and officials so that they prove their mettle. The support of the Odisha Government of late is a welcome change from the past when sportspersons with disabilities were not being recognized and given their due standing. Now they are being treated as equals. I am pretty sure that our athletes like in the past will do very well in this Games too”, the Honorary Area Director signed off.
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TOP: Odisha quartet (L to R) Swagatika Prida, Sonali Pradhan, Sarita Routray and Sasmita Mohapatra at the at the send-off ceremony in Bhubaneswar on March 5, 2017.
RIGHT: Odisha athletes, coaches, guests and officials at the send-off ceremony in Bhubaneswar on March 5, 2017.