Ishrat Rasheed Becomes 1st Female Kashmiri Specially-Abled International Basketball Player

I never thought I would be able to go this far,” says Ishrat Rasheed, Kashmir’s first female international specially-abled basketball player.

Ishrat is all set to play in the International Wheelchair Basketball Tournament to be held next month in Thailand.

Her journey from being bed-ridden due to a grave spinal cord injury to reaching an international stage has been nothing short of remarkable.

In 2016, Ishrat fell down from the second floor of her house and suffered a spinal injury, leaving her wheelchair-bound. “I was unable to accept the new reality as I had not seen a wheelchair my whole life,” Rasheed said.

Speaking during her training at a basketball court, Ishrat told ANI, “People often passed judgments on me due to my condition. The often asked me, what will I do in life? Some even said that it would have been better if I had died from the accident so that my family did not have to undergo this suffering.”

Ishrat’s fortunes took a turn for the better after she heard of a camp being held for specially-abled basketball players at Srinagar indoor stadium.

“I saw some boys playing wheelchair basketball. I wondered if they can do it, why can’t I? I had never played wheelchair basketball. I soon joined the team and made the cut for two national events,” she said.

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