FROM crashing into people in wheelchair basketball to smashing into people in wheelchair rugby, Ayaz Bhuta has enjoyed the transition into his new sport.

The 27-year-old, who will go to his debut Paralympic Games in Rio, has relished the change from wheelchair basketball, and now the man nicknamed the Jonah Lomu of wheelchair rugby, feels he has found his niche.

“I used to weigh eight stone back then and I was the little guy hitting the big guys twice the size of me and twice the weight of me,” said the Bolton athlete who began playing rugby in 2009.

“Basketball is a non-contact sport, so they were squaring up to me when I was smashing into their chairs – they were like ‘what you doing?’.

“I got scouted by wheelchair rugby and went down to one of their camps. It just instantly drew me.

“The aggression drew me first, but then as I got in love with the game the tactical nature of it drew me more and more.

“When I went to wheelchair rugby I was the little guy being hit, so there was a transition. I've had to develop my game to be annoying and agile.”

Bhuta, who has Roberts Syndrome, has been picked to go to Rio in September by the British Paralympic Association, which is a registered charity that is responsible for funding, selecting and managing the Paralympics GB team.

Rio 2016 is expected to be the most competitive Paralympic Games ever and Bhuta said the news of his selection took some time to sink in.

“It was quite an underwhelming reaction from myself,” he added.

“We went into a room with the coaches and performance director and they said 'congratulations, you've been selected' and I went ‘oh’. He asked, ‘is that all you've got to say?’.

“It was a bit underwhelming. He asked ‘have you got anything more to say?’ I was like ‘no not really’.

“Then I got into my car and was stuck on the M6. As I'm thinking more and more that's when it really kicked in. I'm going to Rio. I got really excited and probably tooted my horn.”

Paralympics GB finished third in their pool at London 2012, winning once and losing two matches, but Bhuta said the side expect more from themselves in Rio.

“I've heard people saying this is the best squad we've had,” said Bhuta, who has been preparing for the Paralympics with the help of a Sports Massage Association sponsorship which has enabled him to receive regular treatment from local sports injury clinic Head2Toe as part of the SMA Road2Rio.

“I don't know if that's true but that's quite a good compliment for the younger boys coming through. This year's been a streak of impressive results.

“We had a test event and we won gold. I think we surprised a few people. We are expecting a much tougher challenge in Rio.

“We've come close to beating the top teams, we've won a few times, we've lost a few times. We're not getting battered like we used to. We compete with the best and the top flight in the world.”

You can help #Supercharge ParalympicsGB to Rio 2016 and beyond. Show your support for the team and find out more at www.paralympics.org.uk/supercharge