New Delhi, Mar 4 (PTI) The Indian Army has taken a lead in promoting boccia and conducted a national championship for the sports played by para-athletes that ended on Saturday.

The 7th Boccia National Championship was conducted from February 28 to March 4 at the Rajputana Rifles Regimental Centre at the Delhi Cantonment, the defence ministry said in a statement.

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As a sport, boccia is predominantly played by athletes with cerebral palsy but has now been expanded to include athletes with other disabilities that affect their motor skills, it said.

The statement said the sports is played with a ball. All athletes are required to be seated when releasing the ball and most play it from a wheelchair, it said.

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It said athletes can throw, kick, or even use a ramp to get the ball where one wants it to go.

At the Paralympic level, boccia is one of only two sports which do not have an Olympic counterpart, the statement said.

"Indian Army has taken lead in promoting boccia. Towards that end, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between Mission Olympics Wing of the Indian Army and Paralympics Committee of India for promoting Paralympics movement in the country and providing a platform for transition of specially abled Indian Army soldiers into para-athletes," the statement said.

As part of this unique initiative, the army, through Headquarter Delhi Area and Mission Olympics Wing, extended full support in coordinating and conducting the event, officials said.

The army also fielded a six-member veteran team from the Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Kirkee, in Pune in the national championship, the statement said.

Prior to commencement of the championship, all participants were classified into categories commensurate to their disability. Around 70 wheelchair-bound para-athletes from 21 states participated in the championship, the officials said.

Students from the Indian Army-run Asha Schools for the differently-abled also witnessed the games. Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area, was the chief guest for the closing and prize distribution ceremony organised on Saturday.

The general officer witnessed the final match and awarded medals and trophy to the winners.

"The Boccia National Championship under the aegis of Headquarter Delhi Area has been a landmark event for the army as it opens new avenues of participation in boccia sports for Indian Army's serving soldiers and veterans," the statement said.

The winners of the event will compete in the Asian Boccia Regional Championship in Hong Kong scheduled in May. The gold medallist from the Hong Kong event will directly get a berth in the Paralympics in Paris in September 2024, it said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)