SPORTSABLE member Tia Ruel has returned from Poland with a third place trophy in the BC1 category of the Polska Boccia International.

Ruel, 19, made her England squad debut at the third annual competition organised by Poland's national governing body of the Paralympic sport.

Accompanied by seven other teammates, including Penny Froude, a BC4 England player and fellow SportsAble member, they brought home four trophies and enjoyed a successful competition overall.

In one of the first international championships since the Rio Paralympic Games the squad faced intense pressure as they competed against Paralympians and world rankings players.

Ruel's toughest match was against world number 12 Mikhail Gutnik from Russia who she lost to by only one point in the semi-finals.

Fighting back in the bronze position play-off match against the home nation's Kinga Koza, the Wokingham resident battled hard to take home third place with a 4-2 win.

Ruel said: "I'm thrilled with my results from my first official international competition as an England player.

"Not only have I come third but I've become a new player.

"My confidence in this competition has been amazing and I can't thank my team enough for their support.

"I'm beyond proud of myself and ready for the new Tia to continue this season."

Boccia is an indoor ball game, similar to boules or petanque, where athleres have to propel coloured balls - red or blue - as close as they can to the jack - white - ball.

Developed initially for athletes with moderate to severe Cerebral Palsy, the sport requires equal measure of strategy and accuracy to ensure the players' balls surround the jack - knocking their opponents' balls out of the way or blocking them - thus scoring points.

Ruel has been playing boccia since the age of 11 and now trains regularly at SportsAble in Maidenhead, making use of the halls, coaching and equipment that is offered as part of a subsidised membership package to all athletes.

She has been a member since 2009 and credits the charity for providing support, opportunities and the chance to make friends with like-minded athletes.