Canada’s wheelchair rugby team remains undefeated at Paralympic qualifier
Canada’s wheelchair rugby team continued its strong start to the IWRF Paralympic qualification tournament by beating Sweden 55-39 in Richmond, B.C. on Friday. Canada overcame its toughest test so far in the tournament and are now a perfect 4-0.
A back-and-forth battle ensued early on with both teams creating scoring opportunities. Zak Madell found an opening late in the first quarter to make it 7-6 for Canada, but Tomas Hjert quickly responded with a game-tying try for Sweden.
The Swedish team pulled off an impressive score to beat the buzzer when Conrad Hilderbrand managed to haul in a long pass just as time expired in the first quarter.
Sweden ties it up
Hjert tied the game up at 12 points apiece in the second quarter, but Madell continued his strong tournament performance by scoring a try to reestablish Canada’s one-point lead. The Okotoks, Alta., native scored again before halftime to give Canada a 24-21 lead.
Canada began to separate in the third quarter when Fabien Lavoie connected with Shayne Smith for a try that put Canada on top 35-23. Sweden’s Roger Lindberg cut the Canadian lead down to nine points in the fourth, but the team was unable to close the gap as Canada held on for the win.
Canada will next face Germany tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET. The top four teams after the preliminary round will play off in two semifinal matches to decide the final two spots in the wheelchair rugby competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
CBC Sports has a free live stream of all of Canada’s matches at the 2020 wheelchair rugby Paralympic Games qualifier from Richmond, B.C. Watch all the action here.
