Orpington wheelchair fencing prodigy Henry Patient knows he can play the waiting game after being singled out to attend a special event at the Houses of Parliament.

The 22-year-old is on the hunt for a job after graduating with a Masters in Data Science from the University of Bath but knows that won’t affect his sporting prospects after being selected for funding by Pitching In and SportsAid.

Pitching In - a grassroots sports initiative set up by Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral - supports 50 young athletes with crucial financial support as well as a number of development opportunities, including a reception in Westminster where the young sports stars were able to meet MPs and fellow athletes.

And Kent native Patient revealed just how much of a difference the funding makes to his ability to compete at the highest level possible.

“The SportsAid grant has been completely valuable every time I have got it,” he said. “It is what I rely on to pay for my coaching because competitions and travel are one thing but coaching is the most important element of being a successful athlete. There is no point going to competitions if you are not training properly.

“Not having a job, not having an income, sport is super important but it can’t take priority over everything else. Having the SportsAid money that you can say is a dedicated pot for sport, it takes a lot of the weight off and I am able to relax knowing I can spend it on sport.

“It makes a big difference and takes a lot of the stress out of transitional periods. SportsAid really helps smooth transitional periods whether it is moving to uni, leaving uni, changing jobs - having that money that can go to sport frees up a lot of your other finances for other things which makes it a lot easier.”

Patient was one of 20 athletes invited to the Houses of Parliament for a reception hosted by Pitching In and SportsAid, with 11-time Paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson amongst the speakers.

Athletes were also able to network with other athletes and politicians, with Patient relishing the chance to meet those with the power to create change in the Paralympic movement.

“I found out that I had got the SportsAid grant and the invite to Parliament came through pretty soon afterwards,” he added.

“It was really nice, it’s nice to come to a venue where there are people who can make a difference. Particularly coming from a para sport, being able to speak to MPs and raise issues in areas they maybe haven’t dealt with has been really nice.”

Patient, who has cerebral palsy that limits the motor function on the right side of his body, only picked up fencing as an undergraduate at the University of York but quickly climbed through the ranks.

The option to try out some wheelchair equipment further supercharged his progress and now the 22-year-old is continuing to focus on his development.

“Fencing is quite a niche sport but has a big presence at uni, it is part of the BUCS [British Universities and Colleges Sport] programme. The University of York had a really good fencing club and I started as an adult beginner.

“I had done it a little bit as a kid and really enjoyed it. I had to stop for many years but I always knew it was something I wanted to do when I went to uni.

“One of the coaches said they had some old wheelchair stuff, I gave it a go and fell in love with it and never looked back.

“I am a mostly able-bodied athlete for most other sports. I did trampolining, athletics, football, cricket but none of those sports I could do on a super even playing field and I am a really competitive person.

“That is what drew me to para sport, the idea that it was something I could be world class at makes a really big difference. That’s a really important motivator.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more