Special Olympics Bharat announce squad for Asia Pacific Bocce and Bowling competition

The Indian squad consists of eight athletes each for Bocce and Bowling respectively.

Special Olympics Bharat (SOB), the national federation promoting sports for athletes with intellectual disabilities, have announced a 16-member squad that will represent the country for the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Bocce and Bowling Competition, to be held from November 18th to 22nd 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 will be represented by Kabir Pritam Baruah, Ebenezer David, Wilfred Dsouza and Devansh Agarwal and the side 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.”

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 Programs, including the likes of Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Phillipines, Hong Kong, Macao, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh besides Bharat, are set to participate in the competition, hailing from three different regions, namely, East Asia, Europe Eurasia, and Asia Pacific.

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.

India squad for the Asia Pacific Bocce & Bowling Competition 2024

Bocce

Category	Role	Name	State
Men’s Team	Athlete	Kabir Pritam Baruah	Assam
	Athlete	Ebenezer David	Chhattisgarh
	Athlete	Wilfred Dsouza	Karnataka
	Athlete	Devansh Agarwal	Uttarakhand
	Coach	P. Arun	Puducherry
	Coach	S. Anandan	Tamil Nadu
Women’s Team	Athlete	Priyanka	Delhi
	Athlete	Manjula	Karnataka
	Athlete	Purnima Madan	Madhya Pradesh
	Athlete	G. Subhashini	Tamil Nadu
	Coach	Mamta	Delhi
	Coach	Pushpa Tripathi	Uttarakhand

Bowling

Category	Role	Name	State
Men’s Team	Athlete	Ibhanan Sahu	Chhattishgarh
	Athlete	Ankit	Delhi
	Athlete	Prakash Veghela	Gujarat
	Athlete	Nirupam Dey	Assam
	Coach	Akshat Sharma	Chhattishgarh
	Coach	Ileshbhai Raval	Gujarat
Women’s Team	Athlete	Neha Singh	Delhi
	Athlete	Simran Pujara	Chhattishgarh
	Athlete	Shraddha Patel	Gujarat
	Athlete	Susri Sangeeta Nayak	Odisha
	Coach	Shafali Gupta	Uttar Pradesh
	Coach	Anupama Singh	Delhi

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