Great Britain got off to the perfect start at the 2024 Paralympic Games as they defeated world champions Australia 58 - 55 to begin their title defence.
Gavin Walker captained the side and is joined in the squad by Leicester Tigers compatriots Nick Cummins, Kieran Flynn, Jamie Stead and Tyler Walker, who joined the club in the summer.
Earlier this week, Cummins expressed his excitement at how the side would square up going in as the reigning Gold Medal holders. "We’re always developing things as a team, refining things," he said.
"We’ve lost a couple of key players from Tokyo but we’ve added new players in who bring a lot, aswell as new tactics that we are really looking forward to deploying in Paris. Tyler (Walker) has joined up with us; he’s only 20 years old and brings a fresh enthusiasm, a new skill set.
"We’re coming into this tournament really strong. Our training camp finished really well, we’re Paralympic champions and we know we can perform in big events so we’ve got a lot of confidence. We haven’t had the perfect cycle, I wouldn’t say, but we are the favourites and we’re feeling good."
Today's curtain raiser with Australia is followed by pool stage clashes with Denmark before a Saturday showdown with the hosts, France. You can tune into all matches, live, on Channel4.com.
Team GB Match Schedule:
- Friday, August 30 (11.30am) – Great Britain v Denmark
- Saturday, August 31 (7.30pm) – Great Britain v France
- Sunday, September 1 (times vary) – Semi Finals & Placing
- Monday, September 2 (times vary) – Final & Placing
