CROSSGATES Paralympian Kieran Steer is ready to challenge for top honours once more after regaining his place in the Scottish boccia squad.

The 23-year-old, who competed for Team GB at the Rio Games two years ago, was named in the 15-player pool for the year ahead by Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) last week.

Steer, who plays in the BC4 classification that comprises athletes who have impairments that have no cerebral origin, reached the semi-finals of the mixed pairs competition at the Paralympics before taking some time out from the sport.

He made his competitive comeback in October at the SDS Invitational and, after seeing off Paul McLister and Jayne Milligan, from Northern Ireland, he won gold with a 5-2 victory over fellow Scot Ross Munro.

Steer, who last year won the East Kilbride Sports Council award for athletes with a disability at the annual Dunfermline and West Fife Sports Council Sports Awards, is working to regain the form that took him to Rio with the assistance of coach and fiancée Cat Spencer.

Dalgety Bay's Claire Morrison, who coaches with GB Boccia, will support the squad as a coach mentor and Richard Brickley, president of Disability Sport Fife, commented: "Joining up with the best players in the country will offer Kieran the opportunity to regain the form that gained him a place in the GB boccia team in Rio.

"Kieran is one of 10 players selected for the Scottish squad along with four ramp assistants who support the BC3 players. Claire Morrison, from Dalgety Bay, and GB Boccia supports the squad as a coach mentor. Well done to Kieran and Claire who continue to put Fife on the national and international boccia map."

DSF's first high-performance boccia player, Steer won a bronze medal at the British Junior Boccia Championships in 2011 and also scooped gold at the World Junior Para-Sport Games in Brazil.

He went on to reach a world ranking of 11 in individual competition – and third in the pairs – and win gold in the European Continental Cup singles in 2015, 12 months after being part of Team GB for the World Championships in Beijing.

After taking time off from boccia after the Paralympics to pursue other interests and concentrate on other aspects of his life, Steer is now back in the Scotland squad as he plots further success.