Tokyo: India’s Bhavinaben Patel won 7-11, 5-11, 6-11 in straight games against Zhou Ying of China in the women’s singles final of the Table Tennis Class 4 event of the Tokyo Paralympics here on Sunday. With the defeat, he had to be satisfied with the silver medal. The Indian player had to face defeat in the final in just 19 minutes but she managed to get India’s first medal in the ongoing Paralympic Games.
Bhavinaben also lost to Zhou in their first group match earlier this week. Bhavinaben struggled against Zhou, who won five Paralympics medals, including gold medals in Beijing and London, and was unable to execute her strategy properly.
Let us tell you that this is India’s first medal this time in the current Paralympic Games. Bhavinaben gave a good fight to Zhou Ying in the first game but the two-time former gold medalist from China didn’t give the Indian any chance once she found her momentum and registered an easy straight-game win.
Bhavinaben gave a good fight to Zhou Ying in the first game but the two-time former gold medalist from China did not give the Indian any chance once she regained her momentum and registered an easy straight-game win.
Earlier, India’s Bhavinaben Patel had defeated China’s Miao Zhang 3-2 in the semi-finals. Patel defeated the world number three player 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 to reach the final. Patel had also defeated the 2016 Rio Paralympic gold medalist and world number two Borislava Perich Rankovi in the quarterfinals.
Bhavinaben, who contracted polio at the age of just 12 months, defeated Chinese world number three Miao Zhang 7-11 11-7 11-4 9-11 11-8 in the semi-finals on Saturday. Be aware that the sitting balance of class 4 players is correct and the hands work fully. The disorder in their body is due to injury to the spinal cord.
Let us tell you that Patel started playing in the blind association in the Vastrapur area of Ahmedabad 13 years ago where she was a student of ITI for Divyang. Though Bhavina, daughter of Hasmukhbhai Patel, who runs a small grocery shop in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, was not even considered a medal contender, today she created a history for India and herself with her stellar performance.
