Steph McGuire says it is a privilege to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, even if his results haven ‘t been what he hoped for so far.
Hamilton man McGuire crashed out of the group stages in the individual competition, with a 4-1 defeat against Hong Kong’s Wong Kwan Hang and a 6-0 loss to Colombian Euclides Grisales, either side of a narrow 3-2 victory over Shun Esaki of Japan.
That 6-0 defeat instead saw Grisales through to the quarter-finals, while McGuire watched from the sidelines.
However, McGuire’s BC4 Pairs competition started this morning with a 6-4 win over Brazil and an 8-0 defeat to Slovakia, where he captained a Team GB squad that also features Louis Saunders and Evie Edwards.
McGuire says he was rusty against some top-level competition, and it showed, but has enjoyed the event nonetheless.
Speaking from Tokyo, he said: “The experience is second to none; this is the best village and venue I’ve ever competed in.
“It has been a privilege to get back doing the sport I love after 20 months out.
“It wasn’t the results I wanted in the group – I was a little rusty in ball for ball format with the best in the world.
“The standard has again gone higher, it’s a fantastic spectacle to watch, and it’s power-based precision.”
In the pairs, Great Britain now tackle Canada and Portugal on Friday in their Group A matches.
Steph said: “There are no easy games, but if we reach our top level then we can progress from the pool.”
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