While teaching at a special education school in Fiji, Kasalina Tagici, a teacher who works with children with intellectual disabilities (ID), discovered the sporting talents of her students, Maria Teresia and Samuela Vuetasau, in badminton.
Her keen eye spotted the potential in both athletes, believing that they could represent Special Olympics Fiji at the 2023 Berlin World Games.
The prospect of competing in an unfamiliar sport in the Games was daunting. Badminton itself was a completely new sport for Teresia and Vuetasau. There was also a lack of professional sporting facilities or major competitions for athletes with ID in Fiji. Yet, Tagici’s dedication and trust in her athletes shone through.
“This is a first-time experience for them to have such a competition,” Tagici explained. “We don’t have competitions such as this. We just play amongst ourselves. And badminton is not a well-known sport either back in Fiji.”
“I train them on how to hold a racquet, how to play with a shuttle, how to serve. Those are little steps, unlike other countries where they are well familiar with badminton rules, here we are learning the rules as we go by,” she continued.
Tagici’s commitment went beyond coaching techniques. To facilitate twice-daily training and transportation challenges, Teresia and Vuetasau lived and trained intensively at her house for the last three months before the games. This shared living fostered a close-knit family bond in the lead-up to the games.
The journey to the games led to many firsts for both athletes. For instance, it was their first time to Berlin.
“It’s an honor to be here and we are very much privileged, happy and excited to participate in the World Games… this is a new experience altogether,” Tagici said. “Playing in such a competition at this higher level with other teams from other countries. It’s been a learning experience for us.”
In the face of challenges, Tagici’s belief in her athletes’ grit and talent paid off. Their improvement was evident. Tagici reminds wider society that ultimately, inclusion needs to be holistic. While the World Games has been good exposure for people with ID, she stresses that inclusive behavior needs to be practiced widely in our daily lives, beyond just sports and competitions. “Some parts of society just leave them at home and don’t include them. Inclusion is for everybody.”
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