"I've always been sport mad, and always thought it would be sport that directed my way in life, little did I know. It was 10 September 2005 a normal Saturday for me, I'd worked in the morning and it was back to the club to get on the team bus.

It was our first league match of the season, Ynysybwl away, after several minutes of play there was a penalty called, knock on, scrum. This changed the rest of my life, playing hooker for Brecon Rugby Club it was a freak accident, the scrum collapsed, breaking my neck with it.

It was something that happened a thousand times before. Having played the game since I was four, it was the love of my life and never had a serious injury before, this once was enough.

I was air lifted by The Welsh Air Ambulance to the Heath recreation ground and from there taken by hospital to The University Hospital of Wales, The Heath, Cardiff.

After examination by the doctors it was clear I'd dislocated several vertebrae and severed my spinal cord. After undergoing surgery to rod and stabilise the neck I had a brief spell in intensive care due to pneumonia.

After several tough days and nights for myself, girlfriend and family I stabilised, and it was down to me from there to work hard in my rehabilitation.

Having spent a month in the Heath it was to the Spinal Injuries Unit, Rookwood hospital for me. A long road of rehab and preparation for discharge followed, and having spent ten months in hospital on 23 June 2006 I was finally discharged.

A lot has changed for me in life but I still have that passion for sport. Whilst in hospital I started playing table tennis, after some gentle persuasion.

I practised every Monday thereafter. I then got asked if I'd like to go and watch and train with some of the Disabled Welsh Table Tennis Team in the Welsh Institute of Sport, I jumped at the chance.

After several days of getting a taxi from the hospital to the W.I.S, I then went on to compete in the Inter-Spinal Unit Games. This was held down in Stoke Manderville Hospital and I competed in the bowls and table tennis. Having competed and won both events I decided this was something I wanted to pursue.

Since leaving hospital I've trained in the W.I.S every week when possible, I play table tennis three times a week and do my rehab three times a week.

I've also been training with the GB squad for almost two years, and have competed for GB in nine international tournaments. I've gained many world ranking points over the last competitions and I'm now ranked 22 in the world, in my class.

Following this success, chief executive of the Federation of Disability Sport Wales, Jon Morgan elected me to the British Council as a possible young advocate. This was an opportunity to go to Beijing and represent Britain, gain experience and encourage the Paralympic spirit and celebration.

I was successful with my application, and I left for Beijing on 3 September. I will attend several workshops and learn how to raise the awareness of the Paralympics. I'm very excited about this once in a lifetime opportunity, and I look forward to bringing back and sharing what I'll learn and my experiences from Beijing."

Article written by Robert Davies