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Prince Harry unveils Britain's wounded soldiers for Invictus Games

Xinhua, April 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Prince Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth, held a ceremony at Buckingham Palace Wednesday to unveil Britain's 110-strong team of wounded veterans to represent Britain at next month's Invictus Games in Orlando, the United States.

The prince, who saw active military service in the Middle East, is patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, meeting team members and posing with them for the first official team photograph.

The team is made up of wounded, injured and sick (WIS) personnel and veterans from the military services. They were chosen based on the benefit the Invictus Games will give to individuals as part of their recovery process.

The British delegation is being delivered by a partnership comprising the Ministry of Defense (MOD), Help for Heroes, and the Royal British Legion.

Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said: "Everyone selected for the UK team can be proud of what they have achieved as they prepare for success in Orlando. The MOD is once again backing this superb event and I look forward to being there to see our personnel and veterans demonstrate their fighting spirit."

A range of sports will be figure in the games, including athletics, archery wheelchair basketball, road cycling, powerlifting, indoor rowing, wheelchair rugby, swimming, sitting volleyball, and for the first time, wheelchair tennis.

Former Army Captain David Wiseman has been named as team captain. He was shot by the enemy when commanding a small British Infantry team embedded within the Afghan National Army in Nad-e Ali district, in Helmand province in 2009.

A bullet entered his shoulder, traveled through his torso and hit his ribs. The bullet came to rest in his right lung, where it resides to this day. Wiseman was diagnosed with PTSD in 2012, a condition which is now manageable but still a part of his day-to-day life.

Captain Wiseman said: "The Invictus Games is a shining example of what this community can achieve, a group of individuals from around the world coming together in order to show everyone that beyond injury, they can achieve the extraordinary."

The team launch also marked the official handover of the Invictus Games flag from Prince Harry to U.S. team captain Will Reynolds, signifying the handover from London to Orlando. Endit