Aaron Phipps secured 25 tries as Great Britain kicked off their Paralympics wheelchair rugby title defense with a significant 58-55 victory against world champions Australia on Thursday in Paris. Phipps played a pivotal role in the Tokyo Paralympics triumph and made crucial contributions in the closing stages of the first and second quarters, propelling Britain to a strong start in Group B of the sport dubbed "murderball". "It's an incredible start, but we've achieved nothing yet," Phipps commented. "Australia is a top team, we've been competing against them for years. We must remember this is just the beginning, so we need to start as we intend to continue." Australia is now expected to compete with hosts France and Denmark, who will play later on Thursday, for a spot in the semifinals. "GB played exceptionally well," said Australia's Ryley Batt. "The difference was in the final goals. Out of the four quarters, if you score the last goals, Great Britain scored three of them, we scored one, and that gave Great Britain a three-point victory," he added.

Phipps scored the opening try just 15 seconds into the match at the Champs de Mars arena, located near the Eiffel Tower and also set to host para judo. Britain led 14-13 at the end of the first eight-minute quarter and maintained a one-point lead with a 28-27 score at halftime. With one quarter remaining, they were ahead 43-40 after Phipps scored his 21st try. He then secured the win for Britain with his final try of the game with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Two-time Paralympic champion Batt scored 36 tries in a losing cause, while Phipps' teammate Stuart Robinson scored 23. "It's unusual, normally it's Stu who scores the most," Phipps remarked. "I'm usually the one who takes the hits and Stu has the better hands. I'm typically the one who gets physical." Phipps, now 41, had his legs and most of his fingers amputated following a meningitis C infection as a teenager in 1999. Eight years ago, he became the first disabled British man to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and is now aiming for consecutive Paralympic titles.

"They're very different, but I would love to win both gold medals," Phipps said. "Climbing Kilimanjaro was an insane endurance challenge. This is incredibly intense, a pressure cooker, and you forget that until you're here." Three-time former champions the USA began their Paralympics gold medal quest by narrowly defeating Canada 51-48 in Group A. Sarah Adams became the first woman to compete in the sport at the Paralympics for the USA, scoring six tries. The opening day of wheelchair rugby action concludes with Japan, who finished as runners-up to Australia at the 2022 world championship, facing Germany.