With his sixth Paralympic Games on the horizon, Wheelchair Basketball player Terry Bywater believes Great Britain can go all the way in Tokyo.

The 36-year-old made his Paralympic debut in Sydney in 2000 and has won three bronze medals including at Rio.

Since the last Games, Bywater and the Great Britain’s men’s team have had success becoming champions on the world and European stage.

As the elder statesmen in the group, Redcar’s Bywater believes there’s something unique about this team which helps them succeed.

“It’s been a crazy couple of years for us. We left Rio in 2016 with a bronze medal and we were very proud of what we did,” he said, speaking at a Sainsbury’s store visit in Saltburn.

“But there was a bit of anger there that we didn’t get to the final because we thought we could have got there and maybe even won gold.

“We came out of Rio with this massive goal of getting to Tokyo 2020 first but then as soon as we achieved that, we want nothing else but a gold medal.

“I’ve been in a few cycles now and this team there’s something special about it.

“We’ve got that cutting edge and we’ve got that little it extra to take us all the way.

“To become world champions and to call yourself the number one team in the world, it wasn’t something we expected but we believed we could do.

“That was another dream and then we had the tough task of going to the Europeans and qualifying for Tokyo.

“But we became European champions so it’s been quite a surreal two years, it’s been absolutely fantastic but now it’s the big one and we have to go and do that in Tokyo.”

With victory at the European championships, the team secured themselves a spot in Tokyo where they hope to upgrade their bronze.

Despite having represented ParalympicsGB at five previous Games, Bywater hopes Tokyo offers an opportunity to claim the top prize.

“For me it’s a dream to represent Great Britain, I’ve been doing this for twenty years and fingers crossed if I get to Tokyo, it’s going to be six games,” added Bywater, who was helping to promote Sainsbury’s role as longest-standing supporter of ParalympicsGB and a champion of inclusive sport for all.

“There’s nothing bigger you can ever achieve in your sport, so I’m going to do all I can to get picked again.

“This for me is probably the most important Games. With me knowing we have a chance to go all the way, it’s a bit more of an incentive.

“I can make a squad right now that can definitely go and win a gold at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

“I’m going to do everything I can to be in that 12, it’s not a given for any of the players but this squad could genuinely become Paralympic champions.”

Sainsbury’s is the longest-standing supporter of ParalympicsGB and a champion of inclusive sport for all. Sainsbury’s commitment to helping customers live well for less has been at the heart of what we do since 1869. For more information on Sainsbury’s commitment to inclusive sport visit https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/