Nigel Murray delighted with Paralympic bronze

The Whitnash Paralympian and his teammates suffered a crushing 18-1 defeat to Thailand on Monday, which ended their hopes of a gold medal.

But they dusted themselves off and showed courage and composure to win their bronze medal match 7-5 against Portugal in what was a repeat result of the Beijing 2008 final.

“We felt down after losing to Thailand and it was very painful,” said Murray.

“There was a lot of long faces and soul searching but we said to ourselves that we have every chance of winning a medal and that’s what we did.

“It’s not the colour we all wanted but our first aim was to get a medal and now we have done that we’re all quite relaxed and we can go on with confidence in our other events.”

Murray, who is ranked first in the BC2 category, began his bid for individual glory this week.

He already has two Paralympic golds, one silver and now the bronze to his name along with a host of World and European medals.

“My form was a little bit up and down in the team competition and I know I can play better,” said the 48-year-old.

“The competition is the toughest it’s ever been and I’ll need to play better to get a medal.

“But I feel the pressure is off now, I’ve got the bronze and I can just go out there and enjoy it.”

Murray paid tribute to family his friends and, who included a strong contingent of Brakes supporters who had come to cheer on their fellow fan.

A banner with the boccia star’s name on was unveiled by the supporters and he said this spurred him on.

Murray added: “I’m not sure what state those lads will be in at the end of it all.

“But moments when the crowd are behind you are what you love in sport and when I get up on that podium I will take it all in.”

Murray is set to retire as one of boccia’s greatest players but the veteran said the future is bright for his younger teammates Daniel Bentley, David Smith and Zoe Robinson.

He is also optimistic that boccia can become more popular as a result of the coverage and of the interest that has been shown during the Games.

“Hopefully they can go on the win more medals both individually and together and they can go on to greater things.

“There are some good players on the edge of the squad and boccia has been getting a lot of coverage over the last few days which will econurage more people to take up the sport.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people and there’s an appetite for it.”

Updates on Murray’s medal bid will be available online at www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk