Tuesday June 4, 2013

Blind but he didn’t lose sight of his goal

By EILEEN NG
eileen@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Azril Che Ibrahim was an active football player until his world came crashing when he was 11. He became blind.

He went into depression for six months, keeping to himself and not mixing with his friends and family.

“I was very sad. I lost my appetite and could not face my friends as they kept teasing me about my condition,” he said at the launch of United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) “The State of the World's Children 2013: Children with Disabilities” report.

But he has proven that there's life and football even without eyesight. He is now a member of the national futsal team for the blind.

Born with sight, Azril, now 20, was active in football in his early primary school years with his two elder brothers, who were also active in the sport.

He had dreams of becoming a footballer like his idol David Beckham but his eyesight started deteriorating when he was eight. By the time he had his eyes checked, doctors confirmed he only had 40% of his vision left.

“Despite all this, I persevered and completed Standard Six in a regular school. I used to ask my friends to tell me what the teacher wrote on the blackboard,” he said.

Determined lad: Women, Family and Community Development Ministry deputy secretarygeneral Datuk Harjeet Singh (right) and Belmonte chatting with Azril after launching a Unicef event in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama

He subsequently went to two schools for children with disabilities and started to slowly dabble in football again when a schoolmate wrapped a football with plastic bag so he could hear the sound.

In 2011, he followed a senior schoolmate to a futsal game for the blind in Bangsar and was thrilled to be selected as part of the national team.

His first international tournament was against the South Korean team where he scored his first goal in the semi-finals.

“My dream of playing football is finally fulfilled. My advice to people is not to let any disability be a barrier to success,” said Azril, who is currently studying at Kolej Darul Quran.

The five-a-side blind football, or more commonly known as blind futsal, consists of five players, of which four are blind.

Only the goalkeeper is sighted. There is also a guide, who is positioned behind the opponent's goal post, to assist in directing the players.

The court, which is the same as any futsal court, has side kickboxes to keep the ball, which produces a sound thanks to ball bearings inside it, within the court.

Unicef Malaysia representative Wivina Belmonte commended Malaysia for its efforts in addressing the needs of the disabled.

She said Malaysia was also among the first to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.