When wheelchair rugby was officially recognized as a Paralympic sport at Sydney 2000, few people had any idea what the game was all about; some thought it was a novelty event.

But attitudes changed after the thrilling final in which the United States defeated Australia by one point.

Today, wheelchair rugby is well established, going from strength-to-strength. It is recognized as the fastest growing wheelchair sport in the world.

The Athens Paralympic Games tournament revealed just how far wheelchair rugby has advanced in the past four years.

The sport is now more professional and better organized; the athletes are fitter due to better training techniques and diet; there is better equipment with wheelchairs lighter and stronger; greater financial funding is available from national lotteries, government grants, and outside sponsorship.

Britain's top player, Troye Collins, says there has been a massive improvement in the standard of wheelchair rugby since it was introduced in Sydney.

He puts this down to better equipment, greater funding and improved training methods.

"For instance, I have been doing a lot of fitness and speed training, and it has made a huge difference to my performance," he said.

Collins says there has been support for the British team from the U.K. National Lottery and from sponsors.

Other teams have also reported increased financial support from both government and private sector.

The improvement in the sport was reflected in Athens by the closeness of games and the number of upsets, with No. 6 seed New Zealand winning the gold medal.

Japan, which finished at the bottom of the tournament without a win, took Australia and Germany right to the wire.

The team had the tournament's leading point scorer in Shinichi Shimakawa with 104 goals in six games, including 26 against Australia.

Both Japan and Australia complained that their preparations for the tournament had been disrupted by last minute disability reclassification.

It would seem this is one area of the sport that could do with greater transparency.

As for the future, there are calls for wheelchair rugby to be introduced into Africa, South America and Asia.

U.S. coach Kevin Orr is one of several involved in the sport, who is hoping that China will field a wheelchair rugby team at the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

One thing is certain: If China does enter a team, it will be well prepared and very competitive.

Zhao Sujing, executive secretary-general of the China Paralympic Committee, said on Sunday that it had a special task force here to collect information on wheelchair rugby and other sports not yet developed in China. And development plans would be worked out soon for these sports be soon introduced in China, she added.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2004)