Brave Osian makes his international bow in Scotland

Former Corwen Football Club player Osian Morris capped an incredible journey by playing wheelchair basketball for Wales.

Back in October 2018, Osian was diagnosed with a tumour on his spinal cord.

Up until then, he had been a keen sportsman and was playing for Corwen FC's reserves at the time and his dad, Daf Morris, was the manager.

Osian Morris (5) with the Welsh team

He had an operation to remove the tumour three weeks later but unfortunately things didn’t go according to plan and Osian lost all feeling in his legs and became wheelchair-bound.

Following this, he got involved with Rhyl Raptors basketball team, who really made him feel at home and made excellent progress in the early days, thanks to support from his influential coach Mike Hayes.

Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic hit and scuppered Osian’s progress, however last September he started training with North Wales Knights, playing for the second team.

Such was Osian's progress, he was subsequently chosen for the first team and played numerous matches.

Osian Morris with his dad Daf in his football days

In February, Osian received an invitation to train with the Welsh 3x3 basketball squad and after impressing the coaches, he made the cut for the squad and was chosen to represent Wales in the Commonwealth Games qualifiers.

Coming up against Scotland and Northern Ireland, the very young Welsh team lost both matches, but they gave both teams competitive games.

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Osian made his debut against Northern Ireland and performed admirably in what has been an incredible journey for him.

His very proud family made the journey up to Scotland to see Osian make his debut for Wales.

Osian's dad Daf Morris said: "We're all really proud of how he had coped and adapted since his operation and of the incredible progress he has made in wheelchair basketball.

"A massive thank-you to Mike Hayes, Osian's coach at Rhyl Raptors and North Wales Knights."