Paralympian Ian Sagar admits he feels a 'twinge of pain' knowing his Great Britain team-mates are currently competing in the World Championships without him.
But he is delighted to be back in his hometown of Barnsley for a two-week break and is still fully focused on competing in Tokyo in 2020. The 36-year-old from Hoyland Common – who competes professionally for a club in Italy – has taken a break from representing his country to focus on having children with wife Natalia. He hopes to return to the Great Britain side for what would be a third Paralympics having finished fourth at London 2012 and claimed bronze in Rio in 2016.
"We came fourth then third so the next one should be a Paralympic final and there is no bigger game in the sport," said Ian, who has been in a wheelchair since a motorbike accident as a teenager.
"It's the one thing I am missing in my career and to win gold would be very special. Then there is LA in 2024 which I might not make because I will be 42 but other players have been at the Paralympics in their 40s so it's not beyond the realms of possibility."
Ian is currently in Barnsley with his wife and two stepchildren. He said: "It's great to come back and see my family and friends and to settle back into Barnsley life. I am happy in Italy but I do miss home sometimes and it's possible we might move back eventually."
While Sagar is in Barnsley, his Great Britain team-mates are in Hamburg, Germany for the World Championships which started yesterday. He said: "The team have all been messaging me, asking me when I am coming back and giving me banter. When the squad was announced and then they had their kit day, I had a little twinge of pain about not being with them. It's not a nice feeling but I have made the right decision for my life.
"I am not sure exactly when I will be back because we are looking at IVF so I don't know yet when we will have our first child. I might have to miss next year's European Championships but I am very much focused on Tokyo. There are three or four new young guys in the squad now and it will be a fight to get my place back but I am determined to do so. I have been training with the few of the Italian national team players who were getting ready for the World Championships and it felt a bit wrong because I should have been helping the British guys."
Sagar's season with top flight team Braintea84 Cantu, based just north of Milan, has finished and he has taken a part-time job in a factory as he looks to build up his CV for when he retires from the sport. He said: "Before I had my accident I worked at Wombwell Foundry as a metallurgist.
"This is the same type of place but I am collating certificates for the guys who work there. We make tubes for nuclear power plants. It's quite strange to look at the guys working in the factory and know that would probably would have been my life if I hadn't had my accident. ,It's good to have this part-time job in the off-season because, without basketball, it's hard not to go crazy. I am still training four or five times per week."
