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This tennis team not only earned approval from the crowd for their winning serve—but also for their emotional sportsmanship when things got rough.
At the 2018 Invictus Games, an athletic tournament for injured and disabled military service players in Sydney, Australia this week, while thousands of people enjoyed its inspirational platform, one match in particular struck a chord with the players.
UK tennis player Paul Guest was engaged in a match alongside his Dutch teammate Edwin Vermetten, competing against an American team, when a helicopter flew over the stadium.
Guest, who had serve with the British Armed Forces, uses a wheelchair due to neck and spinal injuries sustained while on duty in 1987. Years later, he was diagnosed with PTSD – so when he heard the aerial vehicle buzzing overhead, he suddenly became overcome with anxiety.
His teammate, Edwin Vermetten, noticed that Guest was visibly upset and immediately abandoned play so he could rush over to the UK veteran and console him during his time of need.
Vermetten embraced Guest and whispered words of encouragement until he could recover from the debilitating episode.
The Dutch player later revealed that he was able to bring Guest back to his senses by singing the "Let It Go" song from the hit Disney flick Frozen.
"I took him by the face and said ‘Look at me. We are a team so let it go," Vermetten told an Invictus reporter. "Look into my eyes and sing the ‘Frozen' song, and we did. For him, this was the moment he let go, and he did, he literally let it all go."
"I'm not used to people being there to cheer me on but it's what Invictus is all about. All the nations are cheering every single one of us on" A special moment for #TeamUK competitor Paul Guest at the Wheelchair Tennis #IG2018 pic.twitter.com/xHc8exdOLb
— Help for Heroes (@HelpforHeroes) October 22, 2018
"I'm not used to people being there to cheer me on but it's what Invictus is all about. All the nations are cheering every single one of us on" A special moment for #TeamUK competitor Paul Guest at the Wheelchair Tennis #IG2018 pic.twitter.com/xHc8exdOLb
After the emotional exchange, Guest then went on to deliver the tie-breaking point that brought victory to the UK-Dutch team.
Score Big With Your Friends By Sharing The Story On Social Media – Photo by Tracey Nearmy / Getty Images for Invictus Games Sydney
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