Styles earns Invictus spot for Team UK

COVENTRY Wheelchair Rugby player Craig Styles has been selected for the Team UK team which is heading to the The Hague next May for the fifth Invictus Games.

Styles, who joined Coventry from Northampton Saints in the summer, will travel to the Netherlands with the 65-strong squad made up of wounded, injured, and sick military veterans.

Styles says wheelchair rugby has changed his life.

Craig Styles has been selected for Invictus Games

“It shouldn’t be underestimated what a positive impact and life changing effect team sports can have,” he said. “Sport has given me the confidence to aim high and achieve results a few years ago I may not have felt were possible.”

Mandip Sehmi, Coventry Wheelchair Rugby head coach and Coventry Rugby Foundation project officer, said it would be a big thrill to see Styles represent the club on the international stage.

“We’re all really proud of Craig’s selection for the Invictus Games,” he added. “He’s only been with us a couple of months but his attitude towards training has been inspiring.”

Steven Baldwin, originally from Nuneaton and now living just outside Coventry, will also be part of Team UK. He will be among the 85 per cent of the team making their Games debuts.

Since leaving the forces, and particularly in the last ten years, the 35-year-old former Army private struggled significantly with his mental health. The turning point, however, came when he watched the Invictus Games in Australia in 2018 and he was inspired to take part.

The team will compete in nine sports: athletics, archery, wheelchair basketball, cycling, powerlifting, indoor rowing, wheelchair rugby, swimming and sitting volleyball.