PARALYMPICS 2024: ‘I want to make my country proud' - SA to be represented in Boccia for the first time

CAPE TOWN - South Africa’s pair of Boccia participants are ready to fly the flag on the world stage at the Paralympics Games in Paris on Thursday.

Elanza Jordaan and Karabo Morapedi will make history as the first South African Boccia players to contest. 

Twenty-five-year-old Jordaan spoke to Eyewitness News while preparing for the event, which she says is a "dream come true." 

ALSO READ: 

• SA Boccia athletes make history as they qualify for their first Paralympics
• PARALYMPICS 2024: Swimmer Kat Swanepoel on having her world flipped upside down, and flying Team SA's flag high
• PARALYMPICS 2024: 'Don't tell me I can't' - Archer Shaun Anderson ready for another successful shot

Jordaan was born with Cerebral Palsy, a condition that affects muscle movement and co-ordination, and is wheelchair-bound. 

She participates in Boccia in the BC3 class.

The game is designed specifically for athletes with a disability affecting locomotor function.

BC3 athletes use a Boccia ramp, and are allowed to use a ramp assistant to play because of their limitations in arm and leg functions. Elanza's mother, Sandré, is her ramp assistant.

The aim of the game is to outwit your opponent by propelling balls as close to the jack ball(white). For more information, Boccia coach and physiotherapist Reinet Barnard explains the rules and classifications in the video below.

“The game is extremely stressful because it involves a lot of perception. There are subtle ways you can intimidate your opponent, so it’s not just a physical game of skill - you also have to be psychologically strong, so that you can handle whatever situation that occurs on court, “ Barnard explained. 

Jordaan is a teacher at Paarl School, and was introduced to the sport by her physiotherapist nine years ago. Since then, she has not looked back since.

She practices three to four hours daily, and attributes her mental strength, which is needed to do well in the sport, to her faith and sticking to her motto. 

“It is psychologically [taxing]; there are days where I feel like I cannot do it because there moments where my muscles suffer from all the practicing. But I always remind myself about my motto in life - ‘never quit’".