By Joseph mchekadona
The Tanzania Wheelchair Tennis says plans are underway to introduce the sport in Zanzibar,so that the disabled can play the game.
Speaking in an interview,National team wheelchair tennis player Peter Voster who toured the Island recently said plans are underway to start the sport in Zanzibar.
He said he is happy with the response which we received by disabled people in Zanzibar, especially at Maisala Club where they were hosted.
Voster said Zanzibar's are ready for the sport the only challenge is facilities as wheelchairs are expensive for many ,he urged well wishers to help so that the game can start in the Island as soon as possible.
He said players were very happy and they loved the game because it had never existed before before.
"We recently went to Zanzibar at Maisala Club ,the aim was to see how we can start wheelchair tennis in the Island ,we showed them (Zanzibar's)how the game (wheelchair tennis)is played ,they were very excited and they are ready ,the only challenge is facilities,we ask well wishers to help with the facilities,"he said.
Voster is ranked number one Wheelchair tennis player in East Africa ,seventh in Africa and 138 in the World .
Wheelchair Tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users ,the size of the court net height and rackets are the same ,but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis.
Athlete use specially designed wheelchair chairs and the ball may bounce up to two times where the second bounce may also occur outside the court .
Wheelchair tennis has been played at all four grand slams since 2007 and is one of the sports played at the summer Paralympics,it involves three categories,men,women and Quads and each has singles and doubles.
The Quad is a new form ,is for players who have substantial loss of function in atleast one upper limb ,but may include various disabilities ,the players often tape the rackets to their hand ,to compensate for loss of function and some players are allowed to use electric powered wheelchairs .