Team GB boccia captain drops into Putney hospital (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Team GB boccia captain drops into Putney hospital

3:20pm Friday 18th January 2013 in News

The Team GB boccia captain paid a visit to Putney's Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) this week.

Nigel Murray, who was recently awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List, met with patients on Wednesday (January 16) to talk about his experiences and gave tips to the RHN Boccia team.

As Britain’s most successful Boccia player, Mr Murray has amassed a personal medal haul of two golds, one silver and one bronze over the last four Paralympic Games.

Before his talk, he will be ran a masterclass with the RHN’s very own Boccia team, the RHN Rollers who played their first league match of the season just before Christmas.

The Paralympian said, "It is a great honour for me to have been invited to the RHN. Having a disability myself, I am very keen to spread the word of disability sport and raise awareness of Boccia.

"It is very important to empower people, but in the end it is also just about people getting out there and enjoying themselves.

"Having hosted the Paralympics in London, it is crucial that we ensure that the Paralympic legacy lives on."

As the legacy of the Paralympics continues to grow, it is hoped the visit to the RHN will inspire more patients to take up Boccia and other disability sports.

The RHN is a national medical charity, independent from the NHS, which works to improve the lives of adults affected by severe neurological disability through specialist long term care and rehabilitation.

For more information visit www.rhn.org.uk