It was a high-pressure game for Australia’s Steelers. Ella Sabljak, one of three women on the team, cradled her head in her hands at one point, worried she’d let the team down before bouncing back.
As Australian wheelchair rugby player Ella Sabljak hit the court for the sport’s first game of the Paris Paralympics, the crowd erupted.
“When the ball just slipped out of my hands and bounced off my chest, I was gutted because I value that possession so much. And it’s the big picture, you don’t want to let the team down,” Sabljak said.But she quickly bounced back, scoring a try under a minute later – an impressive feat given 36 of Australia’s tries were landed by Steeler of 21 years, Ryley Batt, and 12 were scored by captain Chris Bond.Ryley Batt sprints across the court.
“We’re definitely paving the way in Australia and I think other teams need to catch up, understand and recognise that women add value to the game. We’re not burdens, we’re not different, we’re not difficult. We are elite athletes amongst other elite athletes.” Players are assigned a classification value of between 0.5 and 3.5 according to their disability – the lower the number, the higher the level of impairment.It’s a mixed gender, high-contact Paralympic sport, also known as “murderball”Players have varying degrees of impairment and are assigned a classification value of between 0.5 and 3.5: the higher of the number, the higher the functional ability
“I definitely think it increases our chances of participating,” Sabljak said. “We need to be able to provide opportunities for women to get there and if it’s that 0.5 bonus that the team has, that’s what it is.”
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