THE Australian Steelers wheelchair rugby team have received a massive boost with the Rio Paralympics a little over 80 days away.
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After they slipped to number four in the world, they have now climbed to second behind Canada following a successful Canada Cup tournament.
The Steelers finished the tournament earlier this week with a silver medal after five wins and a loss from their five matches.
Port Macquarie’s Ryley Batt said while the tournament was a successful one they can still improve.
“Yes we would have liked to win but second is a great position for us with Rio only 80 days away,” he said.
“We played well but still have a lot of peaking to do to get that back-to-back gold.”
They defeated Japan 63-58 in the opening game before the USA were too good, registering a 60-56 win in game two.
On day two the Steelers defeated Switzerland 61-42 before they beat Great Britain by six points and Canada by 11 on day three. They also defeated Sweden.
The victories over Great Britain and Canada could prove to be a boost for the team with both nations drawn in the same pool as Australia in Rio.
“It’s a huge confidence boost beating them both although it will all be a lot harder come the Paralympics,” Batt said.
