Equestrian: Wells holds back tears as she keeps the GB dressage flag flying

Ed Henry
Friday 31 August 2012 22:27 BST
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Sophie Wells maintained Great Britain's outstanding start to the team dressage competition at Greenwich Park yesterday.

Paralympic debutant Wells, 22, followed Lee Pearson's lead by comfortably topping a 14-strong entry in the Grade IV category with an international personal best score of 75.906 per cent aboard Pinocchio.

"I never cry, but that was amazing," Wells said.

The Great Britain coach, Garry Peel, was preparing to give his women's wheelchair basketball team a "lash of the tongue" after branding their performance in a 51-24 defeat to Australia "an absolute disgrace".

Peel was left stunned as 2008 bronze medallists Australia dominated the game in every department. The former Britain international, a silver medallist at the 1996 Paralympics, was on his way back to the locker room when he stopped to speak to reporters. "They know what's coming," he said. "They know that's not the way we play. It was an absolute disgrace what we put out there. They didn't stick to the game plan and if you don't do that then you won't win nothing."

There was disappointment in the shooting for Nathan Milgate and Matt Skelhon, who both failed to make the air rifle SH1 final. Milgate, ranked No 1 in the world, and Skelhon, ranked third, had been expected to challenge but could only finish 10th and 18th respectively.

"I'm obviously disappointed as this is not the result I would have liked," said 25-year-old Milgate. "I wanted to shoot better and be in the final. I didn't expect to be in this position."

Archer Paul Browne beat the world No 2 Piotr Sawicki 6-4 to book his place in the quarter-finals of the recurve W1/W2, but Kate Murray lost 7-1 to Gizem Girismen of Turkey in the last eight of the women's equivalent. "It's a real adrenalin rush. It's the only time we get this kind of audience and attention," Browne said.

The women's sitting volleyball team, playing their first ever Paralympic match, lost in straight sets to Ukraine, 25-9, 25-20, 25-14.

There were wins for Paul Karabardak, Jane Campbell, Robert Davies, Kim Daybell and Paul Davies in their table tennis classes, but Scott Robertson could not follow suit.

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