India's Blind Football Team To Have Friendly Match With Malaysia

By M. Saraswathi NEW DELHI (India), Dec 1 (Bernama) -- India's visually-impaired football team is set to have a friendly match with their Malaysian counterparts on Dec 13. The match is organised by the Malaysian Blind Sports Association (MBSA). The coach of the Indian team, SRVC (Society for Rehabilitation of Visually Challenged) India Blind Football team, Sunil J. Mathew said: "India's blind football team members are very young as compared with those of Malaysia, and it is always good to have a friendly match with the team that has supported us very much," he told Bernama here Monday. He said SRVC, a non-governmental organisation helped to put together the Indian team in May last year. "More than 40 countries have (their very own) blind football team, and India had none till we established this team last year," he said, adding that Malaysia's team, as well as MBSA, had been a pillar of good support. Mathew said from Kuala Lumpur, the team would head to Hong Kong for a six-nation tournament to be held from Dec 14-18, where Malaysia is also participating. Blind Football is a five-a-side football played by visually impaired athletes using a ball with a noise-generating device inside. Played on a smaller pitch on an enclosed court, the game was only introduced as a Paralympic event in 2004. There is more dribbling and short passing than in the mainstream sport, and crowds remain quiet during play to ensure that players can hear the ball, their team-mates and opposition players. --BERNAMA