Any team is beatable in wheelchair rugby - Mandip Sehmi

Great Britain's wheelchair rugby athlete Mandip Sehmi said he is looking forward to the upcoming Paralympics in Rio which kicks start on 7th September.

Sehmi, who suffered a broken neck and a permanent spinal cord injury during a car accident in 2010, is all set to take part in his third edition of the Paralympics. It was at the Stoke Mandeville hospital where he was admitted, the 35-year-old met former wheelchair rugby captain Bob O'Shea and started his training on the sport.

Recalling his first encounter with the game, Sehmi said "I think my mum was going to run on the court when I was knocked out (of my chair), ready to pick my chair up and smack the other guy round the head.

"They soon see past the crashing and the banging and see how tactical the game is and how good the game is.

"That's what the game is about. No other sport in disability sport has people coming out of their chairs so hard.

"You're going to take the guy out, there's no way round it. It's not an accident - you're trying to do it.

"It's hard-hitting and fast, like nothing out there. I tried a few sports when I was first injured and this is by far the most exciting.

"When I was in hospital playing it I forgot I was in a wheelchair. I didn't want to come out. The physios had to tell you it's time to come out, it's dinner time.

"It's like when you're a kid playing football in the park. Your mum wants to drag you in for tea. It's that kind of sport."

The game allows four players to be on the court and the points are awarded based on the degree of disability. Crediting the game for the turnaround it had created, Sehmi, who has three gold medals from the IWRF European Championship said it had provided him with additional motivation after the tragic incident.

"You've got recreational players and it's changed their lives. You see the difference in people when they first come.

"It's about getting people moving, getting people doing things.

"This is one of the few sports that has so many extremes in disability. You can be really disabled and not so disabled, but still take part. It's so inclusive.

"I don't know what I'd be doing or where my life would be without sport.

"When I broke my neck it was the lowest point in my life. Everything I knew was taken away from me in a matter of seconds.

"I'd never have dreamt I'd be here from breaking my neck. It's opportunities that came through hard work and dedication through sport."