Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Hindu
The Hindu
Sport
PTI

Tokyo Paralympics | Bhavina Patel becomes first Indian in finals of a table tennis event in Paralympics

Bhavina Patel celebrates after winning the semifinals in the women's singles class 4 category table tennis in Paralympics, in Tokyo on August 28, 2021. Photo: Twitter/@kishanreddybjp via PTI

Bhavina Patel continued to script history as she became the first Indian to enter the final of a table tennis event in the Paralympics with a hard-fought 3-2 win over China's Miao Zhang in a class 4 semifinal here on August 28.

The 34-year-old Patel beat her world no. 3 Chinese opponent 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, and 11-8 in the semifinal showdown that lasted 34 minutes.

She will take on world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the summit clash on August 29.

Competing in her maiden Paralympics, Patel lost the opening game in a tight contest. But, she made a strong recovery, claiming the next two games.

Paralympics 

In the fourth game, Zhang showed her class not giving Patel the bragging rights just yet as the match headed into the decider.

In the deciding fifth game, Patel took a time out after which she notched up the win.

In the quarterfinal on Friday, Patel had defeated 2016 Rio Paralympics gold winner and world number two Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia to clinch a medal and script history.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.