At the age of 10, Gaz Choudhry was made an amputee after he found out he had osteosarcoma in his knee. Osteosarcoma is a bone tumour which impacts long bones in the body, particularly around the knee, but can also be found in the hip, shoulder and jaw.
The sad news heavily impacted Choudhry’s life, but he did not let it stop him from carrying on participating in sports.
He moved from Pakistan to Earling, London, at the age of 13, where he fell in love with wheelchair basketball. He was inspired by a basketball roadshow to get into the sport, and that marked the beginning of his journey.
The South Asian-born Paralympian, who represented Team GB at three Paralympics, won two bronze medals. He competed at the London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. At the Rio and Tokyo games, Choudhry and Team GB won bronze in the wheelchair basketball event. He is one of only a small number of athletes to represent Great Britain at either the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games.
Growing up, one of his idols was Joe Jayaratne, who was also South Asian and represented Team GB. Choudhry said: “Having those natural role models lifted my spirit.”
He was also a part of Team GB’s silver medal squad at the European Championships in 2017, but 2018 brought something even more special. He and his teammates became the first Great Britain side to be crowned world champions in wheelchair basketball. Alongside his bronze medals at the Paralympics and a world championship title, he also won four European gold medals.
In 2022, the 40-year-old was awarded an MBE for his important impact on wheelchair basketball. He has also been viewed as a role model for the South Asian community looking to get into any sport, through his incredible backstory, which helped him become a world champion.
After 15 spectacular years of representing Great Britain, he decided to call it quits on his international playing career in 2024. But as one door shuts, another one opens, and he could find himself going all the way to the top of the game in acting.
He has already performed in a play at the National Theatre and multiple TV series, starring in Doctor Who and Extrapolations, with potentially more TV appearances on the cards following his retirement from wheelchair basketball.
