ACTUALITE |
08.12.2005
Handisport : Cameroon Qualifies For African Games
The national wheelchair basketball team won bronze at the Afro-Arab tournament in Johannesburg.
The national wheelchair basketball team will take part in the 9th All African Games which will take place in Algeria in 2007. They obtained their qualification in Johannesburg recently during the Afro Asiatic Zone (AAZ) 2005 senior men’s wheelchair World Cup qualifier which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Organised by the Afro Arab zone for Disabled Sports Federation under the supervision of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), the tournament brought together national teams of seven countries in the Afro-Arab zone. They are Kuwait, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Algeria and hosts, South Africa.
The competition took the form of a championship. Cameroonians put up an honourable performance in the competition. After finishing fourth in the group stage of the competition, the Cameroonians moved to the semi-finals. They however lost to South Africa 23-119. The defeat did not however discourage the ambitious Cameroonians as they beat Kenya 33-31 to grab the third position. At the end of the competition, host, South Africa emerged overall winners, followed by Kuwait and Cameroon.
According to the national team coach, Ondoa Mintyene, winning the bronze medal was a great achievement for Cameroon consideration that it was the first time the team was taking part in such a competition. "For a start, we were going to learn but we surprised other teams. Today, Cameroon is counted among teams that are improving fast," he said. He added that the major problem facing the Cameroonian team is the lack of equipment and the fact that they are not used to modern sports infrastructure. It was difficult for the athletes to adapt. The wheelchairs of the national team athletes were disqualified by the organising committee of the tournament. They had to borrow wheelchairs from the host country to enable them take part in the competition.
During the General Assembly of the IWBF Afro Arab congress which held on November 23, assistant national team coach, Mveng Benjamin, was elected President of the newly created African zone of the IWBF. With the newly created African zone, it is probable that Cameroon will qualify for the World Cup in Amsterdam next year since second placed Kuwait is in the Arab zone. Cameroonian coaches also benefited from training sessions for coaches, referees and classifiers organised during the tournament.
The national championship for sports for the disabled will soon come to an end.
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