Bengaluru: Visually challenged Abey Finklea, a 21-year-old from Wisconsin, US, never imagined she would discover her passion in distant India. After training for blind cricket — which she had no idea about till last year — in namma Bengaluru, Abey is now planning to make the game popular among visually challenged women back home.
Abey’s tryst with cricket began at the National Federation of the Blind convention in Florida in July 2024.It was there that she encountered Samarthanam Trust, an Indian organisation promoting blind cricket and headquartered in Bengaluru. “I had never even heard of cricket till then,” she said. “But after meeting Dr Mahantesh (founder of the trust), I got a chance to play and it was exhilarating.”
Dr Mahantesh was in the US promoting the sport with an all-male team, going from university to university. Impressed by Abey’s enthusiasm, he invited her to Bengaluru to train and eventually start a team back home.
The excitement of playing a team sport, something she never thought possible, was life-changing. “Growing up in small-town Wisconsin, I had no access to blind sports. Playing cricket has been empowering. It’s more than just a game — it’s about community and support, having each other’s back when you’re low,” she said.
A degenerative condition left Abey blind in one eye and with blurred vision in the other, but it hasn’t stopped her from embracing challenges.
Arriving in Bengaluru on Oct 11 with her brother, Abey joined a training camp with 26 other girls in her team. “Everyone here has been very welcoming. I don’t speak the local language, but they’ve been teaching me and I’ve been learning a lot,” she shared. Her training runs until Nov 7, after which she plans to return to the US and “create a community of blind women who will play cricket to feel empowered and supported, have camaraderie, no matter their abilities”.
Before arriving in India, Abey was fascinated by Asia but didn’t know what to expect from India. “My interactions with Indians were super positive, so I was really excited to come here. I’m learning a lot, not just about the game but about the culture too.”
Trouble on the streets
Abey does admit that navigating the streets of India has been a challenge compared to her life in Wisconsin. “The streets here are very different; there aren’t always clear places to walk, and cars are everywhere. Back home, the sidewalks are typically easy to navigate, but here it’s a bit challenging for a blind person. But we have had help here,” she said.
Back in the US, Abey plans to continue pursuing a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, driven by her passion for teaching. “I always wanted to be a teacher and work with young children,” she said. She taught primary school students at the age of 17 and also taught children with autism how to ride horses when she was 14.