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War in Ukraine: Disabled in combat, former soldiers dream of becoming Paralympic athletes
In Ukraine, where the death toll of war dead and wounded continues to rise, sport has not disappeared. Sports have many benefits for war wounded, and the goal of participating in the next Paralympic Games gives some hope.
(France 2)
In Ukraine, where the death toll of war dead and wounded continues to rise, sport has not disappeared. Sports have many benefits for war wounded, and the goal of participating in the next Paralympic Games gives some hope.
Wounded by a grenade near Kharkiv (Ukraine), Sacha, 26, now fights on a tatami. A year after his operation, the former soldier was crowned Ukrainian para-jiu-jitsu champion. “When I’m on the tatami here facing able-bodied athletes, (…) I feel like I was before”he confides. Sasha won silver a few months ago, at the Ukrainian national championship. He dreams of his sport becoming Paralympic.
In Ukraine, sports federations have opened their doors to the war wounded. Shakhtar Donetsk, a major Ukrainian football club, has just created a team for amputees and is campaigning for a professional league. Oleksander, 22, who lost his foot to a mine, is on the team. “It helps me morally, because this sport makes me happy”he testifies. For his teammate Sergiy, injured at the beginning of the war, the battle of kyiv was a trauma. He now shares his passion for football with his son, who never misses a training session. In less than three years, nearly 100,000 people have suffered amputations in Ukraine, both military and civilian. The country has set itself a challenge: to enable these wounded to reintegrate into society, particularly through sport.