ADJUSTING to new weather conditions and the food in a different country is always a challenge to many an athlete before a major competition but all in all preparation is important.Day five of the Rwanda Paralympics team in Bury St Edmunds and the team has adapted to the weather in the United Kingdom which the National Paralympics Committee president Dominique Bizimana described as ‘like Kigali’.However, Bizimana also a player on the sitting volleyball team admits that the food is so different from the one the players are used to back at home but, with the most global food type-rice on the menu, the team will adapt with time.Meanwhile, the team physiotherapist Jean Marie Nkurayija and two players including setter Vincent Tuyisenge and Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi were reportedly not feeling well on Wednesday morning but have since recovered.Speaking to Times Sport the same evening, Bizimana explained, “A doctor from Bury St Edmunds arrived here this morning (Wednesday) and gave Nkurayija and Gahamanyi medication for headache but we still do not know what exactly Tuyisenge (Vincent) is suffering from.”The NPC-Rwanda boss described the slightly poor health of the trio as a major setback to the team’s preparations, but was quick to suggest it (team) is going to try their best to keep strong though it will not be easy.“We are the first team from sub-Saharan Africa to represent the continent at the Paralympics Games, so for us this is motivation enough to keep us going. Rwandans have given us support and we shall be representing the entire continent,” said an optimistic Bizimana.From the introduction of sitting volleyball at the Summer Paralympics Games as a demonstration game in 1976, Africa has always been represented by teams from North Africa. Egypt lost the bronze medal game against Russia at the Beijing Games in 2008.
