THE London 2012 Paralympics influenced a lot of young people to get involved in sport, including Alton College student Patrick Asher-Relf, who first became interested in wheelchair rugby when he watched the games.

When Team Solent Sharks launched their wheelchair rugby team, Patrick decided to give it a go, and has since been hugely successful.

As part of Southampton Solent University’s Sports Awards, the Rising Star Award is given to one a junior athlete – pre-university – who has shown exceptional commitment and dedication to their sport and has achieved success in the past season.

Patrick won the award for being a valuable member of the Team Solent Sharks wheelchair rugby first team, having competed at all four National League tournaments this season. The team also won the division two title.

Also in the past year, Patrick has been selected for the GB development squad.

On receiving his award, he said: “I feel very proud and honoured and feel like all the hard work and training is finally paying off.”

“The sports awards was a great evening and I felt proud to be part of it,” he added.

Currently studying a Level 3 CTEC in sport, Patrick hopes to continue studying sport.

He said: “I would like to go to Solent. I’ve been there a lot for different things related to the Sharks and they have really good sport facilities.”