In aggressive wheelchair basketball, 1. Lig, the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Sports Club boasts a outstanding pair of disabled gamers who, regardless of their shared challenges, aren’t solely navigating life however thriving collectively.
At simply 21 years previous, Antalya’s participant Yaşar Ay and 22-year-old Mustafa Harun Gündoğdu from Burdur and Manavgat, respectively, discovered themselves sure by incapacity following site visitors accidents in 2018.
Enduring quite a few surgical procedures and bodily remedy throughout their respective recoveries, Ay and Gündoğdu found a shared ardour for wheelchair basketball.
Having devoted practically two years to Antalya Metropolitan Municipality ASAT Sports Wheelchair Basketball Team, these athletes not solely share the court docket but in addition name the identical home dwelling.
From each day chores to meals, the duo has solid a novel bond, transcending past the basketball area.
In an unique interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), athlete Yaşar Ay recounted the life-altering incident in 2018 when he was hit by a automobile, resulting in 17 days in intensive care and enduring 4 surgical procedures throughout the two-year rehabilitation.
Despite being paralyzed from the waist down, Ay discovered solace in wheelchair basketball on the Veterans Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Education and Research Hospital in Ankara.
His journey led him to Antalya, the place the municipality generously supplied a two-bedroom home shared with teammate Mustafa Harun Gündoğdu.
“Living together has been more efficient for us. We attend practices together, share meals and coexist under the same roof. Being disabled, we understand each other better. Before starting sports, my days were spent in hospitals, but sports brought freedom into my life. We can now go out and explore independently, handling everything ourselves,” Ay stated.
Mustafa Harun Gündoğdu, whose life took a tragic flip on account of a drunk driver in 2018, spoke of three years of bodily remedy.
During his remedy in Afyonkarahisar, Gündoğdu crossed paths with Yaşar Ay, introducing him to basketball. Now, sharing the identical home, their friendship thrives.
“Our friendship is strong, and being disabled, we face no issues. Basketball changed my entire life. Before, my life was confined to going from home to the hospital. Now, I travel to different cities with the team for matches and enjoy evenings out. Life has taken a complete turn,” Gündoğdu stated.
Source: www.dailysabah.com