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Australia wins wheelchair rugby world title, beating USA as redemption for Tokyo Paralympics

Australia's Steelers have been crowned wheelchair rugby world champions with a 58-55 victory over rivals the United States.

After a one-goal loss to Japan in the last world championships final in 2018, and missing out on the medals at last year's Paralympics, the Steelers bounced back in Vejle.

"We were written off three months ago and now we are the best wheelchair rugby team in the world," Australian captain Chris Bond said.

"We never got a good lead but we just fought inch by inch. We held our nerve."

In the knockout rounds they beat Paralympic gold medallists Great Britain and hosts Denmark 58-57 to reach the final, where they took down the four-time world champions.

Australia has won just one other world title, in 2014 also in Denmark, and lost finals either side of that, in 2010 against USA and 2018 against Japan.

"It was a war of attrition but it was testament to our training, our fitness and our staff. We put a really good plan together and we knew we could do it," Bond said.

"We want to continue this momentum now, it feels so good. This is why we do what we do."

Scores were level at quarter-time and half-time before two critical US turnovers in the third quarter gave the Steelers some momentum, and they kept their noses in front until the final siren.

Steelers star Ryley Batt, Australia's most capped player, said "this one is a lot sweeter than the 2014 gold medal".

"I've been a world champion before, but to be honest, this one feels more like a fairytale," he said.

"Losing on home soil in 2018 really hurt. It really, really hurt. But to come back to win this world championship is a testament to our character."

Batt was named the tournament's most valuable player and was the leading scorer, crossing the line 231 times.

"The siren sounded, I was just looking around with tears in my eyes. I was asking myself if it was a dream and if that just happened," Batt said.

"Everyone wrote us off, probably myself included. The world championship was our ultimate goal but was it achievable? We didn't know.

"But when we got to our training camp in Varese in Italy, things just started to work. We could feel it."

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