News Wheelchair rugby is not a sport for the faint-hearted, as this weekend's Rio 2016 test event showed And amongst the big hits and overturned wheelchairs, one player stood out Coral Batey, a diminutive Yorkshire lass on the gold-medal winning Great Britain side, was the only female competitor in action at Carioca Arena 1 Although wheelchair rugby is a mixed sport, it is largley played by men Batey was one of only four women at the 2014 world championships, but she is comfortable mixing it up with the fellas “It’s actually pretty cool, I like it,” she said “There’s no arguing, like there would be around females I really enjoy it “They definitely treat me like one of the lads You just have to get involved and be a part of it I don’t have to do anything different”Batey, who is from Bradford, said that while the physical nature of the sport is one of its main appeals, she is not worried about being injured “I don’t think it’s a dangerous sport, but it’s a lot of fun,” said the 20-year-old “Obviously it’s a contact sport, but the chair takes most of the impact, so it’s not painful ”Become a wheelchair rugby expert with our interactive infographicBit hits, like this one at the Rio 2016 test event, are common in wheelchair rugby (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro)While Batey and her colleagues are European champions, they produced something of a upset by topping the podium at the Aquece Rio International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament, which ran from Friday to Sunday (26-28 February) in Barra Olympic Park The pre-tournament favourites were world and Paralympic champions Australia, and Canada, who finished runners-up to the Australians in both those events and are currently ranked no 1 in the world  But Great Britain, ranked fifth, had the player of the tournament in James Roberts, who scored 136 points He was widely praised, even by his rivals, and highlighted the importance of facing off against each other at the Paralympic Games venue “We learnt a lot, but our rivals also learnt a lot about us,” he said“The arena is sensational and I can’t wait to see it full of fans during the Games”James Roberts James Roberts was unstoppable at Carioca Arena 1 (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro)Great Britain’s coach, Paul Shaw, said the victory would help the team ahead of September’s Paralympic Games “The best thing is that the whole team was able to compete with the best teams in the world, staying focused on the game, without being fazed by having a lower ranking,” he said Australia’s Ryley Batt, widely considered the best player in the world, had spoken about his love of bashing up his rivals before the tournament He produced some magic moments over the weekend and was not disappointed to finish in second place “My aim for the Paralympic Games is definitely a gold medal I know it will be difficult but I believe we are capable”Ryley BattRyley Batt showed his ability and competitive spirit at the test event (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro)Brazil lost all their matches but felt they showed they are improving fast on route to hosting the Paralympic Games “You could see that we have grown a lot in the last few months, even more than we hoped,” said captain Alexandre Taniguchi New fansThe test event also won the sport some new fans, with many among the invited guests impressed by what they saw Businessman Felipe Mendonça Correia admitted he knew very little about the sport before arriving at the venue “I like it a lot in general, but what surprised me the most was the strength and aggression of the players, it’s no joke out there,” he said A Canadian player takes a tumble during the test event (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro)Eron Main, executive director of the The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF), said he was very impressed by Carioca Arena 1 and its place in the heart of the main Olympic Park “The test event was a success,” he said “I am very satisfied, the preparations and the delivery went very well ”Rio 2016’s wheelchair rugby competition manager Daniela Coelho also gave a positive evaluation “The athletes liked the event a lot, as did the international federation,” he said “We also tested transport, as well as arrivals and departures at the airport, and these operations were very much praised “It was a good learning experience for Rio 2016, in terms of accessbility, understanding what wheelchair athletes need, and learning about a sport that is not very well known in Brazil”Daniela CoelhoThe speed and aggression of the game earned wheelchair rugby new fans over the weekend (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro)Rodrigo Garcia, Rio 2016’s sport director, also said the feedback had been largely positive, although he noted that there was still work to do done “Outside the venue, there are still things to do in terms of accessibility in the Olympic Park, and for this reason we did not have an event that was fully open to the public this time,” he said