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Paralympic and world champion shot put and discus athlete Aled Davies has praised Craig Bellamy for revealing he has been diagnosed with depression.

The 40-year-old former Wales footballer said he has been battling the illness for "the last three, four years".

Davies has been open about his own mental health struggles, which began in 2016.

"I guess he was associated with this kind of very testosterone, manly look," Davies, 28, told ����ý Sport Wales.

"So for him to come out and talk about his struggles shows that he's a much bigger man than that strong footballer he was.

"It's tough because you don't want to say 'it's good to see', because it's not good to see.

"But from a character - well he was fierce wasn't he? - who was a great footballer, very aggressive with everything he did, just what you wanted, someone hungry on the ball."

Speaking in Mental Health Awareness Week, Davies said his own mental health is good despite the added stress of the coronavirus crisis.

"I'm not going to lie, I'm great at the moment, I'm in a very, very great place," said the Welshman.

"It's strange because you speak to a lot of athletes who are really struggling in the current situation for numerous reasons.

"But for me, talking about mental health is something I've been doing for a while. I addressed my struggles in 2016 when I won the Paralympic gold, going for it the second time I realised I wasn't happy or content and didn't know why.

"For me, learning to cope with that and moving forward... I knew it wasn't something that would change overnight.

"I know this isn't going to change, I just need to make sure I can control it and it's not it that controls me."

Information and advice

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