His dream is to one day play for Wheelchair Basketball South Africa, says Vredenburg resident Ronaldo Mantsana (17).
He has been using crutches since the age of 7, as he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
At 12 years old he was enrolled at Astra Special School, which required learners to participate in a sport. Mantsana made the decision to participate in wheelchair basketball.
“For me playing wheelchair basketball seemed fun. At first I thought it was easy, but it was not. Seeing people play the sport was amazing, but when I started it was difficult.”
Mantsana says pushing a wheelchair during basketball means you must have power in your arms, something he had to learn to master. He joined Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club and later on went to join the Conquerors Wheelchair Basketball Club.
He says many think once you have a disability it is the end of the world, but that is not the case he says. “You can achieve anything you want”.
Mantsana even represented the Western Province taking part in the Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge in 2019 where he won silver in the u-18 category for the 10 km race.
He reiterated that people with disabilities can achieve anything and should go for their dreams. “No matter what life throws at you,” Mantsana said.
