‘It proves he is capable’: the extreme sports offering release for disabled people

Dieumerci Yanga with Ghazala Tanveer, his support worker from the charity Sense, at the Saif Boxing Academy in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Photograph: Andrew Fox/The Guardian

Dieumerci Yanga never recovered from the seizure which, at the age of three, left him in a coma for three weeks. He woke up with significant brain damage, unable to talk or see clearly.

But last week, the 27-year-old was to be found working out in his local boxing ring in Rotherham with as much focus and skill as any other beginner.