Bulbul Hussain ( bn, বুল্বুল হুসেইন; born 3 January 1972) is a British

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport. The US na ...

player who plays for Kent Crusaders and the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

Paralympic team. He plays mostly in a defensive role.

Early life

Hussain was born in Sylhet District,

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. In 1994, a road traffic accident in Bangladesh left him with a spinal cord injury. He has no function in his hands, some restriction to his arm movement and no movement in his lower body. For wheelchair rugby Hussain is classified as a "one pointer" or a 1.0 player.

Career

In 1995, when Hussain first saw wheelchair rugby he was not convinced he would enjoy it, thinking there was too much wheelchair contact. A year later, he gave it a try for fun and to regain fitness, after a few training sessions he was attracted to the sport because of its speed and competitive element, and from then on he decided to commit and dedicate himself to the sport. In 1997, Hussain first started competing in wheelchair rugby during treatment at Stoke Mandeville. He won a gold medal when he played in his first major tournament at the National Championships in Stoke Mandeville. From 2007 and 2008, Hussain studied at the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme. In 2008, he was part of the Great Britain team that finished fourth in the Summer Paralympic Games in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Afterward, Hussain considered retiring from the game. In September 2010, he was part of the Great Britain team that finished fifth at the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Canada. They won three games and lost four games. In 2011, Great Britain won silver at the European Championships. In May 2012, Hussain was named by The

British Paralympic Association The British Paralympic Association (BPA) is the National Paralympic Committee for ''Great Britain'' (GBR), and is responsible for the United Kingdom's participation in the Paralympic Games. The BPA select, prepare, enter, fund and manage the G ...

in its 11-strong Paralympics GB wheelchair rugby team. Great Britain finished fifth in the

2012 Summer Paralympic Games The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

. In October 2015, Hussain was in the BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge. In May 2016, he was named by The British Paralympic Association in its 11-strong Paralympics GB wheelchair rugby team. Great Britain finished fifth in the 2016 Summer Paralympics Games. Hussain plays for the Kent Crusaders and plays mostly in a defensive role on court.

Awards

In April 2012, Hussain was awarded the Sports Award at the

Channel S Channel S is a UK-based, free-to-air television channel targeting the British Bangladeshi community. The channel was established on 16 December 2004 by Mahee Ferdous Jalil, a Bangladeshi businessman in London. On Sky it at first had a timesha ...

Awards.

Personal life

Hussain lives in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His sporting inspiration is Muhammad Ali, whom he describes as the "ultimate competitor". In March 2013, along with a three-year-old orphan, Tonbir, Hussain officially unveiled

Tower Hamlets Council Tower Hamlets London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London, England. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, c ...

's "Catch. Don't Pass" campaign at the Town Hall in

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

Honours

References

External links

* * (wheelchair rugby) * (athletics) * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Bulbul 1972 births Living people Paralympic wheelchair rugby players of Great Britain Wheelchair rugby players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics People from Sylhet District People from Whitechapel