Paralympics 2024: Wheelchair tennis player Gordon Reid eyes medal

Wheelchair tennis player Gordon Reid is determined to upset the odds and get on the podium again at the Paralympics in Paris.

Reid, 32, claimed singles bronze in Tokyo four years ago, after winning gold in 2016, but is now ranked fifth in the world.

He admits he is an outsider going into the 2024 staging, but enjoys that status.

“I know to win a medal I’m most likely going to have to cause a couple of upsets, which I did in Tokyo,” he told BBC Sport Scotland.

“I like being the underdog, as us Scots usually do. I think it would be a mistake for other people to write me off and I’ll do everything I can to win another medal.”

A more realistic chance for Reid comes in the doubles.

He and partner Alfie Hewitt have won all four Grand Slam titles together as a duo, but were beaten in the final in Tokyo at the last Paralympics.

“It would mean a huge amount to me and Alfie [to win gold],” Reid added. “It’s the one title that’s escaped us, and we’ve come so close.

“We’ve been working really hard to try to improve and win gold.”

This will be Reid’s fifth Paralympics, but he says his hunger remains the same even if he has different goals to 2008, when he went to Beijing as a teenager.

“We’ve had a couple of meetings and all the team’s been down the last couple of days, so it’s starting to feel a bit more real. I’m itching to get started now,” he said.

“In Beijing, I was just there to enjoy the experience. Now I’m going there as an experienced Paralympian and with different expectations.”