Thirteen is far from unlucky '¨for British champion Murray

Nigel Murray MBE said it was the perfect way to bow out after capturing his 13th Great Britain Championship at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford last weekend.
Nigel Murray shows off his mean and moody look in his official Great Britain photoshoot. Picture submittedNigel Murray shows off his mean and moody look in his official Great Britain photoshoot. Picture submitted
Nigel Murray shows off his mean and moody look in his official Great Britain photoshoot. Picture submitted

In his final competitive outing before the Rio Paralympics and his last domestic competition before retirement Murray cruised through the group stages of the BC2 event, routing Fiona Hagenbuch 17-0 and Sian Jones 11-0.

He faced much tougher opposition in the semi-final in the shape of fourth seed Claire Taggart, with the Northern Ireland international going 2-0 up after the first end.

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A tight encounter then saw Murray edge into a 5-3 lead before taking the final end for a 7-3 win in a match he said “would have made a fitting final”.

The unseeded Aran Guthrie awaited in the final where Murray eased to a 6-1 success.

“I had a lot more experience and did what was expected,” said Murray who went straight into a training camp after lifting the title.

“It’s the perfect end as I won 13 England national titles before stopping entering them in 2012.

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“I was winning them year-in, year-out and wanted to give an opportunity to some of the younger players coming through.

“Now I’ve equalled that total it will be easier to remember how many I won when I get older.”

Murray has a further training camp before flying out to Rio on September 2 where he will compete in both the team and individual events.

Ranked 13th in the world, which he sees as a lucky omen, the 52-year-old faces a tough draw in the individual competition which gets under way on September 10.

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However, a seeding of second in the team competition seems to offer him the most hope of a medal from his boccia swansong.

“I’m confident of my form at home and I’m hopeful I can do well,” he added.

“I’ve always got a chance, whether that be in the team or the individual event.”

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