Arabic version: غلايدرز تبدأ عودتها إلى بطولة العالم في كندا
According to ABC News, Australia’s women’s wheelchair basketball team has returned to major international competition at the World Championships in Canada, two years after missing qualification for the Paris Paralympics. The Gliders had not played at a major international tournament since the 2023 World Championships.
The team is seeking to rebuild after a difficult decade that also included failure to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games. Its World Championship campaign is viewed as an important step towards a stated goal of reaching the podium at the Brisbane 2032 Paralympics.
Australia opened against women’s wheelchair basketball powerhouse China, which medalled at the 2021 and 2024 Paralympics and the 2022 World Championships. The Gliders lost their Wednesday-night opener by 11 points, but tournament debutant Katelin Gunn said the performance offered promise. Gunn made her international debut in 2022 and had been part of the squad’s successful repechage campaign in Madrid late last year.
Head coach Jeremy Symot retained the 12-player squad from that repechage for the World Championships. The group includes Shelley Matheson and Sarah Vinci, who have 40 years of international experience between them, and centre Georgia Munro-Cook, who recently won 3×3 bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
A 73-30 defeat to Canada in the Gliders’ second match has made progress from Group A more difficult, with strong results needed in their remaining pool games. Gunn said the team was focused on building through each game and benchmark event as it works towards its longer-term target.
