SINGAPORE – Raising his arms in celebration after scoring a try, Shokei Kin then wheeled around to exchange high-fives with a team-mate.

But the Japanese rugby player was not on a grass pitch, nor was he outdoors.

Instead, Kin was trying his hand at wheelchair rugby on the indoor hard court of the Toa Payoh Sports Hall.

The 25-year-old flanker, who plays for the HITO-Communications Sunwolves in the Super Rugby competition, dropped in on a training session for the Singapore wheelchair rugby team on Friday night (May 19) along with team-mates Ed Quirk and Takaaki Nakazuru. The Sunwolves are due to play the Sharks on Saturday at the National Stadium.

While Quirk had to sit out due to an injury on his right hand, both Kin and Nakazuru gamely had their first taste of the sport formerly known as “murderball”.

By the end of the first eight-minute half, the two professional athletes were left breathless, as Quirk chuckled on the sidelines: “None of the other (Singapore) players are perspiring!”

Kin, a Japan international, admitted that it was tiring but told TODAY that he enjoyed the new experience nonetheless.

“I had expected the wheelchair to be easier to manoeuvre, but it was actually a lot harder than I thought,” he spoke through a translator after the training match.

“The most difficult part was communication, as we were new (teammates) to them today, as that was important in order to pass accurately.”

The sport was certainly very different from what they are used to.

Started in 1977 in Canada by quadriplegic athletes seeking an alternative to wheelchair basketball, athletes must have some loss of function in both upper and lower limits.

Teams can be mixed-gender and the Singapore team was set up last August, in collaboration with Raja Singh, the vice president of the Singapore Disability Sports Council and ActiveSG. The team typically trains every Friday evening at Toa Payoh, with five to six volunteers helping out.

One of the members of the team, Edgar Cheong, thought the Japanese pair acquitted themselves decently despite having no prior experience.

“The experience (of playing with them) was actually very exciting,” he told TODAY. “You could see that… it wasn’t easy for them to pick it up, but I think they did very well and adapted very quickly, so I hope they had fun.

“I really like their enthusiasm and I think this is something our players can learn from.”

The team are currently preparing for the Bali 4’s International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament in July and Cheong added that the team welcomes sparring with able-bodied opponents, who are usually more mobile, as this helps them to improve faster.

“This gives us more of a challenge because our sport is still a fledgling one, so with able-bodied athletes (joining us), it will make it more difficult for us, and that is good because we can improve,” said Cheong.

The team is also looking for attire sponsors for the competition.

The wheelchair rugby athletes’ efforts to push themselves impressed Kin, who came away with newfound respect for them.

“Regardless of disability, as an athlete I’m very proud of them as they are trying to be better in the sport,” he said.

INFO:

The Sunwolves play the Sharks at the National Stadium of Saturday at 7.55pm.

The 5pm curtain-raiser is the National Schools A Div rugby final between Raffles Institution and Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).

Visit http://www.sportshub.com.sg/sportshubtix/Pages/Super-Rugby-2017.aspx for more information.

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