AYAZ Bhuta claimed his second European gold medal earlier this month when he helped Team GB’s wheelchair rugby team to victory over Sweden in the final in Germany.

The achievement earned the Boltonian and his team-mates a place at the World Championships, which will be held in Sydney, Australia, next year.

Bhuta believes they have the talent to become the first European team to get on the podium at a world wheelchair rugby tournament, and could possibly even win it.

Yet the 28-year-old under-graduate, who lives with his dad in Great Lever, fears he may not be able to afford to go.

UK Sport announced plans to stop funding wheelchair rugby last year, following Team GB’s fifth-placed finish at the Rio Paralympics, and Bhuta’s £12,000-a-year grant from the sport’s governing body ended in June.

“At the moment I would say I probably cannot afford to go to Sydney,” said Bhuta, who graduated from the University of Bolton in 2010 with a degree in business information systems, but gave up a banking job in 2015 to concentrate on making the British Paralympic team.

“I have had to give up a lot over the years, first to get on the team and then to stay there.

“I have had to live modestly, but I was fine with that as I was representing my country doing a sport I loved.

“The fact is though, even if the team can cobble together enough money to send us to Sydney, the players on the team cannot afford to live and train in the meantime.

“We have also seen from the European Championships there is no longer enough money in the pot for us to prepare properly.

“In times gone by we have got together every month for training camps then gone to a preparatory tournament ahead of the championships. This year we prepared for the Euros with just one home international against Denmark, which made it all the more amazing we were able to raise our game and beat the best in Europe.”

Bhuta is not willing to give up on his dreams just yet, but has so far failed in his attempts to plug the funding gap with local sponsorship.

“Ideally, what I am looking for is a Bolton business, or businesses, to back me,” he said.

“I just need someone to believe in me and what I am trying to do.

“I could look for a new job, but I know from past experience how hard it is to combine the two.

“My last employer was very understanding. They let me go part-time, which worked for a while but in the end I had to give it up to concentrate on Rio.

“Since then I guess I have become used to life as a full-time athlete. As well as the training and competing, I have been able to devote part of my time to public speaking.

“Being disabled is not seen as a great thing in the Asian and Muslim communities.

“But hopefully, by going to schools, mosques and community centres I have been able to break down some of those cultural barriers.

“That is really my aim. I want to see this through and get that world or Paralympic medal to inspire other people.

“If I can achieve that I will be happy, but I need help.”

Bhuta is used to struggle after being born with Robert’s Syndrome, which limits the growth in his limbs.

He is just 3ft 8ins tall and weighs seven stone, not the ideal frame for a wheelchair rugby player, but he has learned to use that to his advantage.

“What I lack in power, I make up for in agility,” he said. “I have been voted best player in my position for many tournaments representing club and country.

“I feel I have been blessed with this talent and I don’t want to waste it. My team-mates all feel the same way.

“We were so close to getting into the medal matches at the Paralympics.

“We lost to the champions Australia by two points and Canada, the number four team in the world, by a point.

“We have also beaten the other top two teams, America and Japan, in the past.

“It feels like we are close to breaking their dominance, which is why the funding decision was so hard to take.”