Patrick Anderson believes in his team

PARIS – The Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team is not considered a top medal contender in the Paralympic Games tournament but don’t tell that to Patrick Anderson, the team’s biggest star competing in his sixth Games.

There’s a reason Anderson was named Canada’s co-flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony alongside Para swimmer Katarina Roxon Tuesday, and it goes beyond his exploits on the court – although those are very impressive. It’s leadership and confidence in both himself and his teammates.

‘’Being underdogs doesn’t mean we’re not here to win,’’ said Anderson. ‘’It just means you’ve got to knock off some big dogs along the way.

‘’This team is ready to fight right from the beginning.’’

Anderson knows about winning. At his first four Paralympics, Canada won gold in 2000, 2004 and 2012 as well as silver in 2008. It hasn’t reached the podium since those London Games 12 years ago.

But the game has changed immensely over the last decade while Canada has been in a rebuilding situation. After hitting rock bottom with an 11^th at Rio 2016, the team is regaining its lustre. They were  eighth at the Tokyo Paralympics and sixth at the world championships last year.

‘’We’ve got to think our way around the court,’’ said Anderson. ‘’We can’t overpower anybody like back in the day. So hopefully you’ll see a very driven, smart, experienced team doing their own thing.’’

The Canadian men open their tournament Friday against host France, ninth at the 2023 worlds, which returns to the Games for the first time since 2004.

After the pandemic put a damper on a festivities at the year-delayed Tokyo 2020, Anderson and many teammates are overjoyed to have their families back in the stands this year.

‘’That first game there’s going to be a lot of people cheering but not for us,’’ said Anderson. ‘’I watched our men’s team’s quarterfinal game at the Olympics (against France) and it was quite a headwind of energy that they were fighting against.’’

The experience in Tokyo was a reason Anderson decided to extend his incredible career.

‘’Tokyo just didn’t feel right, from the experience to the competitive point of view,’’ he said. ‘’I just wanted to run it back with these guys once again.

‘’My wife and kids have watched too many of my games on laptops so the fact that they are here it’s going to be sweet.’’

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