After a dearth of international competition due to COVID-19, the fixtures are set to come thick and fast in 2022 starting with the Asia Oceania Zone Championships in Thailand this week.
The championships tip off on Friday and will serve as the region’s qualifiers for the World Championships in November with Tristan Knowles and Hannah Dodd keen to repeat the success their respective squads had in 2017.
“Make no mistake, we are here to win,” says Tristan Knowles, “The Rollers have had a long and proud history at this tournament.”
The tournament comes just 8 months after the Tokyo Paralympics, and is the first of three major events with the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships still to come later in the year.
Knowles is excited to be back representing Australia so quickly.
“My original thoughts immediately after Tokyo was exactly that, that we would have a really quick turnaround. It is great in the sense that given the outcome in Tokyo is not where we feel we are capable of being that we get an opportunity to get back on court to begin to focus on climbing those world rankings but to be honest, it's actually felt like a really long time.”
“Perhaps I've spent a lot of time thinking about Tokyo and the next chance to right some wrongs. Either way though, it is absolutely exciting that in just one days time, we get to hit the court and go to work alongside each other.”
The wrongs he refers to are the Rollers’ 5th placed finish at last year’s Paralympics. The side was eliminated by host nation Japan in the quarter finals, the second time they’ve failed to make the semis in as many Games.
“In terms of the performance in Tokyo, you can learn a lot from a loss despite it hurting. We have identified the areas that let us down and we'll be looking to take significant strides in those areas and add that to the areas that we feel we are already elite at. All about adding more tools to the toolbox.”
Only six members of the Tokyo team will line up for the Aussies in Thailand with a new brigade of younger faces joining the likes of Knowles and former Roller Hawks Michael Auprince and Sam White.
“We have some guys that haven't seen a whole heap of international basketball so it is really important that we can say we have some blokes that were ready for the challenge as we continue to develop future stars of the team.”
“I know some might look at this squad and make the observation we have 6 guys missing from Tokyo and that these spots have been filled by 6 rookies but since hitting the ground here we have been razor focused. We have plenty of firepower here and I am really looking forward to watching some of our young guns make a name for themselves on the world stage.”
Knowles says he’s honoured to once again wear the green and gold.
“I work my backside off for opportunities like this so I am really excited. It's hard to explain but even after all these years, I am still obsessed with working hard, making the sacrifices and getting away on tournaments with a group of blokes that have done the same thing.”
“There is no bigger honour than being able to pull on a green and gold singlet, each year that passes I cherish it more and more. The last two and half years however have really highlighted for me the things that are truly important to me.”
“I really missed being able to get away with my teammates to test ourselves against the worlds best, we have toured just twice in that period so I am sure the guys will each take a moment in their own way and appreciate that we are here and about to play.”
In the Rollers’ pool are Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Thailand while the Gliders take on Japan, Iran and Thailand.
These games will be streamed on the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Facebook page and Youtube channel.
Rollers Schedule (all times AEST)
Gliders Schedule (all times AEST)