Yushae DeSilva-Andrade is excited to be representing Bermuda at the Boccia World Championships as she prepares to fly out to Rio de Janiero.

As the island marks the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities with a series of events throughout the week, the 28-year-old will be flying the flag in Brazil as she aims to make her mark among the world’s best players as she looks to also enhance her qualification prospects for the Paralympic Games in Paris.

DeSilva-Andrade is relishing the chance to make her first appearance at the championships since 2018 with the event taking place over 11 days starting on Saturday.

“I’m really excited because I want to see how well I can do this time around. This will be my fourth time at the Championships and I’m excited to see how I’ll get on this time,” she said. “It feels really good being back in competition again.

“It’s awesome being able to represent Bermuda because people get the chance to see that physically-challenged people can do stuff and represent the country, which is really cool. I’m just hoping to have fun and do my best. I don’t really want to put too much expectation and pressure on myself.”

While she may be keeping her expectations in check, Desilva-Andrade has the form to be a contender after claiming an impressive bronze medal at the Veldhoven World Boccia Challenger event in Holland in August. That incredible effort came in only her second outing of the year after she endured an enforced two-year hiatus from international competition due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“That bronze medal was crazy because although I’ve won medals before it felt totally different,” she said.

“I was actually shocked because for me it was the most relaxed I’ve felt playing in a really long time. I wasn’t expecting to do it but it was great. After the break because of Covid it is hard to know what level I'm at. I wasn’t expecting to win a medal but after I did, I was like wow!

“The break because of Covid gave me a break mentally, which I think I actually needed, that was a good part of it, but not being able to compete was really hard. I’m getting back to my best level, I’m not completely there but I feel like I’m 80 per cent there.”

Those sentiments were echoed by coach Troy Farnsworth, who believes DeSilva-Andrade has shown clear signs of development in her game despite the time away from the court.

“Obviously we had a lengthy break due to Covid and it is great to see Yushae getting back out there and back in competition,” he said.

“She’s had two tournaments this year and so she’s working her way back to the level we know she is capable of competing at. We know she’s good enough to compete against any of the players she may come up against in Brazil. she has proven that against the best in the world and so hopefully she can go as far as possible again.

“It’s a great chance to build on momentum and the confidence of winning bronze in the Netherlands. This is a bigger competition featuring more countries and so the level will be that much higher than last time out but she has nothing to lose.

“From the time before Covid, Yushae has really improved in terms of her decision making and the strategic part of the game. We’ve been working hard in training and in the Netherlands you could see that great composure and maturity. It’s taken time, she’s been competing for ten years but that experience is really showing now.”

With vital qualification points on offer towards next year’s Pan American Games in Chile and the Paralympics Games in Paris, France, in 2024, Farnsworth is confident she has the game to make it to the biggest competitions in the world.

“She is working towards qualifying for the Pan American Games in November next year, which she has a really good chance of doing, and then the main longer-term goal is reaching the Paralympics Games in Paris in 2024,” he added.

“This year is all about getting back in the groove of competition and I think Yushae has got a really good chance of doing well. I cant see any reason why she can’t keep going from strength to strength and improving.”