Afghanistan: amazing athletes triumph on the basketball court

18-07-2012 Photo gallery

The final of a four-day wheelchair basketball championship took place under a cloudless summer sky on 15 June at the ICRC physical rehabilitation centre in Kabul. The ICRC organized the tournament in close cooperation with the Afghan Para-Olympic Committee, and patients, ICRC staff and the public all came to cheer the players on.

- Kabul, Afghanistan. On the final day of the tournament, trainer and professional basketballer Jess Markt (sitting centre left in a white tee-shirt) briefed the teams before they went on court.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
Teams from Mazar, Herat, Kabul and Maimana competed for the trophy, after Jess Markt had spent two months in Afghanistan coaching them. Training took place soon after first light or late in the afternoon, to avoid the dusty heat of the Afghan summer.
- Kabul, Afghanistan. The games were fast and furious. Herat (in blue), seen here playing in one of the knockout rounds, made it through to the finals.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
- Kabul, Afghanistan. There were occasional mishaps, but each time the player was up and playing again in seconds, thanks to Alberto Cairo, head of the ICRC’s rehabilitation programme in Afghanistan, who was co-refereeing the game with Jess Markt.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
- Kabul, Afghanistan. ICRC engineers had built the court at the ICRC centre in Kabul so that patients could practice basketball regularly.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
Over 120 players (including 25 women) have taken part in basketball training since the programme began in 2010. All of them are patients or former patients of the ICRC physical rehabilitation programme, except for the team from Maimana, who are patients at another centre.
- Kabul, Afghanistan. Eighteen-year-old Shah Poor (right), lost the use of his legs in an accident when he was four, and limps heavily. According to rehabilitation programme head Alberto Cairo, Poor turns into a tiger when he plays basketball. Shah Poor was named “man of the match” for his role in Maimana’s victory.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
- Kabul, Afghanistan. As a wheelchair basketball coach and professional player, Jess Markt instilled an extraordinary degree of professionalism into the players during their two months' training.
  © ICRC
Watching the players progress, Alberto remarked: "For these players, basketball has become a new way of life. It’s given them a feeling of purpose. It changes the way they see themselves and the way people see them. People watching these games forget they are watching disabled people and see only the amazing athletes in front of them."
- Kabul, Afghanistan. The players line up for a group photo before the final between Maimana (in red) and Herat (in blue).
  © ICRC / J. Barry
- Kabul, Afghanistan. The teams that had been knocked out in previous games watch from the sidelines, cheering on their favourite players.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
- Kabul, Afghanistan. A moment of joy after the final whistle. For Jess Markt and Alberto Cairo, the championship was the culmination of years of planning, and months of extraordinarily hard work. It was a treasured time in which the players could forget everything other than the game.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
- Kabul, Afghanistan. Man-of-the-match Shah Poor was rock-solid in every game. When the final whistle blew above the cheering of the crowd, the score was Maimana 14, Herat 4.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
- Kabul, Afghanistan. Friends and fans rush on to the court to congratulate the players.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
Spectators included David Constantine (second from left, in a white shirt), whose British NGO, Motivation, designed and made the sports wheelchairs used in the tournament. The chairs gave the players much more comfort and mobility than normal wheelchairs.
- Kabul, Afghanistan. The winner’s cup was presented to the Maimana team by the head of the Afghan Para-Olympic Committee, Mr Mohammad Sami Darayi, whose organization had supported the tournament from the start.
  © ICRC / J. Barry
For Jess Markt, who had worked so closely with the players, helping them face challenges and keeping them in good heart throughout their training, it was a moment to savour. "Travelling to Afghanistan to work with the players here has been one of the greatest experiences of my life," he remarked. "It required a lot of time and effort, but every minute teaching these athletes and witnessing their success was worth it."

Afghanistan: amazing athletes triumph on the basketball court

18-07-2012 Photo gallery

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