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Royals Sports Group-owned Rajasthan Royals, along with the Differently Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI) and the Wheelchair Cricket India Association (WCIA), in association with the Narayan Seva Sansthan of Udaipur, on Wednesday jointly announced the launch ofthe 3rd National Wheelchair Cricket Championship, which is to be held in Udaipur from November 27 to December 3, 2022.
The tournament, which is now in its third edition, is returning after a hiatus of two years due to COVID-19. Named as the '3rd National Wheelchair Cricket Championship powered by Rajasthan Royals', the tournament will see participation from close to 250 wheelchair cricketers spread across a total of 16 teams who will be competing for the title. These 16 teams will be divided into four groups, with the toppers of each group progressing to the semi-finals and the eventual winners facing off in the final. Teams who make it to the lastfour will have the chance to bag a cash prize as the winning team will be awarded a prize money of Rs2.50 lakhs along with a rolling trophy, while the runners-up will receive Rs1.50 lakhs. The remaining two semi-finalists who do not make it to the final will also be granted a prize money of Rs50,000 each, as per a press release from DCCI. A total of 27 matches including 24 league games will be held across three venues in the 'city of lakes' - the North-Western Railway Ground near Rana Pratap Nagar station, the Surajpole Ground of Rajasthan, Agricultural College, and the Narayan Divyang Sports Academy Ground in Dabok - where entry will be free for all spectators. With the objective of empowering the participating players and paving way for a stronger ecosystem for the Divyang community, Rajasthan Royals have extended their support to ensure a competitive andsmoothly-run competition. Jake Lush McCrum, Chief Executive Officer, Rajasthan Royals, commented on the franchise's objective through the association, "We are extremely proud to be supporting the differently abled cricketers in theirendeavour of pursuing the sport and excelling at the national level. Our vision at the Royals is to transform society through cricket as the vehicle, and with this extension of support to the competition, we want to further strengthen the cricketing ecosystem for these players, giving them the opportunity to flourish through the sport and contribute to the society." Talking about the mega event, member of BCCI's Differently Abled Cricket Committee, Ravikant Chauhan said, "In this championship, a total of 16 teams from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Baroda, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Mumbai, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana will participate comprising of almost 250 wheelchair cricketers. More than 100 cricket experts and officials will be arriving in Udaipur to contribute to make this Divyang Cricket Khel Kumbh a success. Also, with participation of such a huge number of Wheelchair Cricketers, this event will in itself be a World Record of being the World's Biggest Wheelchair Sports Event (Single Discipline i.e. Cricket) held at one Venue (Udaipur)." Narayan Seva Sansthan, an organisation with a distinguished record of 38 years in the field of assistance and rehabilitation of the disabled in the country, will be hosting all the participating cricketers, experts and officials at the Seva Mahatirth Smart Village. (ANI)
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