(Reuters) – A teenage U.S. college basketball player, who had an arm amputated in a childhood accident, stole the limelight after he scored his first points for Louisiana’s Northwestern State University.
Playing for his Demons team, 19-year-old Hansel Emmanuel produced the most defining moment in their win over Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at the weekend when he dribbled past two defenders and finished with a powerful dunk.
That upped his tallies to five points for the night, leaving the audience in awe of the 6-foot-6 guard’s spectacular performance.
“I had to keep going after the layup — that was my first bucket,” said Emmanuel, who was born in the Dominican Republic. “I know my family was proud. I had to keep working. You can’t give up.”
Emmanuel was six when doctors had to amputate his left arm after a pile of cinder blocks fell on him.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
