Russian wheelchair rugby champions visit Center for Children with Disabilities in Makhachkala

Makhachkala, December 25, 2014. Famous wheelchairs athletes Alip Alimov, Sulaibon Nurmagomedov and Arsen Issaev met with pupils of the Rehabilitation Center for Children with Disabilities of Dagestan ministry of labour and social development, a source in the ministry of youth affairs told RIA Dagestan.

Expert from the ministry of youth affairs’ department of prevention programs and projects Yussuf Gusseinov opened the event, "Today we are welcoming guests that have achieved a lot. They are the winners of the rugby-7 Russian championship. They have proved that there are no people with disabilities, and our abilities know no boundaries. They are very good at archery and table tennis. They are an example to follow in doing something useful and healthy. I hope there are future champions among you, too!"

The athletes told the children how they were the first in Russia to start developing wheelchair rugby. The first team was set up in the Dagestan rehabilitation center for persons with physical disabilities in Makhachkala.

The guests told the pupils that even disabilities cannot stop a person from striving for great victories. The main thing in sports is the power of human spirit, the desire to win and hard work. They advised the young audience to find themselves in a particular sport, e.g., archery, which is gaining popularity in Dagestan. They even showed a real sports bow and let the children hold it. Then, the kids also played table tennis with the national champions.