Special Olympics Bharat athletes narrowly missed out on the qualification for the FIFA Unified World Cup after finishing a creditable fourth in the debut qualifiers of the Asia-Pacific region.
The special athletes won the first three games against Singapore (3-1), Malaysia (2-1) and Indonesia (1-0) to top their pool.
But the Indians lost their subsequent games against Bangladesh and Malaysia, both by a slender margin of 0-1, in the qualifiers.
However the experience remained completely rewarding for the athletes, who returned home today, as this being a first of a kind opportunity of a Special Olympics Unified team playing on an international platform.
Thailand and Bangladesh will represent the Asia Pacific region at the FIFA Unified World Cup later this year.
Special Olympics World Unified Cup is an initiative of FIFA where Special Olympics Athletes (people with intellectual disabilities) and their partners (persons without intellectual disabilities) play as teammates.
