Indian Blind Sports Association Key Issues and
Operational Areas, Major Activiities & Achivements
Operational Districts:
Operational States:
AchieveMents: Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) was founded in 1986 as an outcome of the pioneering initiatives taken by the Blind Relief Association, Delhi, to develop and promote sports for blind youngsters. IBSA has since emerged as the premier national blindsports body in the country with 194 Affiliates in 25 States. It is the sole Indian Affiliate of the International Blind Sports Federation, the apex sports organization for blind sports in the world. It is also affiliated to the Paralympic Committee of India. One of this Association athletes, Shri Ramkaran, has been presented the coveted Arjuna Award as an outstanding Para-sportsperson by Honourable Rashtrapatiji in August 2012. The Association coach, Dr. Satyapal Singh, has been conferred the prestigious Dronacharya Award at the same function for being adjudged an outstanding coach.
As many as 20 National Sports Meets have been conducted by IBSA in collaboration with the Blind Relief Association. These Meets have now become a regular biennial event which is eagerly awaited by the blind sportspersons all over the country. These Meets comprise athletic events like sprints, throws, jumps etc. conducted in accordance with international rules.
Apart from the National Sports Meets which primarily focus on athletics, IBSA also organizes national level tournaments and championships in 5 a side football, powerlifting, kabaddi and judo for the blind. It was IBSA which introduced 5-a side football and powerlifting for the blind in the country and also standardized rules for Kabaddi for the blind. IBSA has so far organized 9 nationals in football, 6 in powerlifting, 3 in kabaddi and 1 in judo.
With a view to enhancing the standards of blind sports in the country the Association has conducted a number of coaching camps on a regular basis. In these camps services of reputed coaches and experts are utilized to transmit knowledge and practices of scientific training, sports medicine, health, diet to the participants from across the country and thereby help them upgrade their skills in sports. Thanks to such untiring grass-root level sports development efforts of IBSA the standards of our athletes and sportsmen have gone up significantly and many of them have been winning laurels in International level competitions
IBSA has sponsored Indian contingent of blind athletes to participate in all the four World Games and Championships for the Blind, held in 1998, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2014 at Madrid (Spain), Quebec (Canada), Sao Paulo (Brazil) Antalya (Turkey) and Seoul (Korea) respectively. The Association also sponsored athletes to take part in the 2009 and 2011 IBSA World Youth and Student Championships held at Colorado Springs, USA.
Recently a team of 15 blind sports persons was sent to take part in Fifth IBSA World Championships and Games held in Seoul, Korea in May 2015. Similarly 11 footballers were sent to Tokyo, Japan to take part in the IBSA Asian Blind Football Championship.
