ARBORFIELD’S ARNOTT HOPING TO QUALIFY FOR PARALYMPICS

IT’S back to business on Sunday as four Great Britain athletes will begin their campaigns in Portugal to qualify for the Paris Paralympic Games.

Among the athletes includes Will Arnott from Arborfield, who is coached by Glynn Tromans and is readying himself for the BC3 Pairs.

“We expect this tournament to be very competitive with each nation fighting it out to get to the Games,” said Boccia UK’s performance director Greg Baker.

“It’s one we feel ready for and have had good preparation leading into it with international sparrers and nations coming to train in the UK while we have also travelled to other countries to train.

“It will be a fascinating few days in Portugal and rest assured we will give it everything we’ve got to ensure we deliver our very best performances.

“We have three athletes who have never competed at a Paralympic Games before so it’s really exciting to see that talent coming through. They’ve put in a huge amount of hard work and hopefully we’ll see it pay off.”

Double European medallist Stephen McGuire says it’s more difficult than ever before to secure those all-important slots. The BC3 Pairs and BC4 Pairs both need to win medals in Portugal before they can book their Eurostar tickets to Paris.

McGuire added:“I’m really excited for the qualifier – it’s the first time that World Boccia has staged a qualifying event in the twenty years I’ve been competing.

“But it is more difficult to qualify than ever before as, up to this event, it has relied on winning specific events such as the Europeans which we just missed out on. But it’s also testament to the fact that, globally, boccia is growing rapidly.”

If Great Britain manages to secure places in the Pairs events, they also earn individual spots in Paris. Meanwhile, the BC1/2 Team has already qualified.