London dreams for Paralympics hero

All the hype and hysteria for the 2012 Olympic Games in London have been overshadowed by an equally important sporting event also taking place next summer.

This week marks exactly a year to the day when the capital hosts the Paralympics, and hundreds of athletes are psyching themselves to put in the extra hours on the track, in the gym and battling against the odds to be ready to represent Britain and bring home the medals.

Britain tends to do pretty well in the Paralympic Games having finished second in the Beijing Games in 2008 behind hosts China with 102 medals. There were many successes on the field including Ajmal Ahmed leading the blind football team to a silver medal.

For some, next year's Games will be to go one better than four years ago. That is the case for Mandip Sehmi, who is one of the leading players in Britain's wheelchair Rugby team. Sehmi’s side lost their semi-final to the USA, who went on to secure the gold medal in China. The 30-year-old has worked hard over the past three years to get himself and the British team into a unit, which he is hopeful will succeed on home turf.

It has been a long, but fruitful journey for Sehmi, who may have thought his life was over following a car crash in 2000, which resulted in a broken neck and spinal cord injuries. But he managed to find a passion for wheelchair rugby, which is a fast, combative sport which combines elements of wheelchair basketball, ice hockey, handball and rugby. It is often referred to as "murderball" after a documentary which focused on the intense rivalry between the USA and Canada in the build up to the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens.

Sehmi is one of the poster boys of his sport and was selected as one of the few athletes who have been transformed into cartoon characters in a series of short animations which also features Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville. Sehmi advocates sport as a way to challenge adversity and to provide focus to life.

"Sport is so powerful, it keeps your body fit and healthy, your mind alert and it breeds confidence. My accident changed my life in ways I found very difficult. Sport changed these, and I found strengths I never knew I had. I really love what I do, I hope people can see what you can achieve and decide to get involved."

Sehmi has travelled around the world to play wheelchair rugby, both for his country and for some of the leading teams in America, seen as the spiritual home for the sport. Missing out on a medal at the 2008 Paralympics was tough to take but just taking part in the Games has spurred Sehmi on to triumph in London next year.

"The biggest moment in my life was representing Britain in the Beijing Games. To represent your country at the highest level possible is every athlete's dream, so becoming a Paralympian has to be my biggest achievement. It was the most incredible experience ever and one I use every day to motivate myself.”

He added,

“Being part of Beijing, I know how special the Paralympic Games are and all I can say is that I'm working as hard as I can so that I can be part of the biggest, most special Paralympics our generation will ever see. London 2012 is going to amazing!"

Picture: Mandip Sehmi