Kolkata: Bhavina Patel, a 34-year-old state government employee of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, assured India of their first medal in Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday - and she did it in style. The para table tennis player rallied to upset China’s Zhang Miao, a world No.3 and silver medallist in Rio, in the semifinals of the women’s singles Class 4 section to make it to the gold medal match on Sunday.
“I have always believed that nothing is impossible if you give it your best shot. And today I did it,” said Bhavina, who will now take on China’s Ying Zhou in the gold medal match on Sunday.
“It is the first time that an Indian player had beaten a Chinese opponent. It’s a huge, huge achievement for me. Everyone used to tell me that beating a Chinese player is impossible,’’ she said in a video tweeted by the Paralympics Committee of India.
Bhavina defeated Miao 3-2 (7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8) in a 34-minute encounter to reach the final and later thanked the people of the country, the PCI, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), her sponsors Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), Blind People’s Association, Ahmedabad (where she learned table tennis) and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for supporting her.
“It is because of their support that I could reach this stage today. Thank you, everyone,” Bhavina said, before adding: “I have never considered myself disabled. Today I have proved that nothing is impossible.”
Fresh from an upset victory in the venue, she now wants to go the distance. “If I maintain the same standard of play, I can win the gold medal,” she said, even though she had lost her opening match to Ying, the same rival, in her first group game in Tokyo. “I am ready mentally for that match. I will give my 100 per cent in that match too,” said Bhavina.
If she wins the final on Sunday, Bhavina will become the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympic Games. She will be only the fourth person ever after swimmer Murlikant Petkar (1972), javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia (2004, 2016), and high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu (2016) to achieve the feat.
Elsewhere, India’s para archer Rakesh Kumar defeated Hong Kong’s Ka Chuen Ngai 144-131 to win his 1/16 Elimination match of men’s individual compound archery event. Rakesh will next take on Marian Marecak of Slovenia in the Round-of-16 match on August 31 (Tuesday).
