Martine Wright, a London bombings survivor who lost both her legs in the 2005 attacks, made an emotional debut in the Paralympics yesterday as Britain took their Games bow in sitting volleyball.

Watched by London Mayor Boris Johnson, the 39-year-old took to the court at the ExCeL exhibition centre, receiving an ovation from the crowd in the South Arena 2.

Great Britain, having put together a team from scratch for the London 2012 Games, were beaten by Ukraine 25-9, 25-20, 25-14.

Ukraine took the first set with relative ease, though Great Britain gave them a tougher ride in the second set, reeling in their big lead.

Wright came on at 24-20 down in the second set, getting a big cheer from the crowd when her name was announced.

But she could not prevent the visitors from taking the set on the next point.

Matthew Sultana

• Matthew Sultana, the young swimmer representing Malta at the Paralympics, yesterday figured in his first event at the London Aquatics Centre when he swam the 50m freestyle heats.

He was seventh in his heat with a time of 31.12 seconds. The qualifying race was won by Brazil’s Phelipe Melo Rodrigues in 24.12 seconds.

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