Bhavina Patel delivered a fantastic performance with dominance at every stage, to achieve a unique milestone.
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Indian paddler Bhavina Patel has reached the quarterfinals of the women’s singles, class 4 event in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics. She is the first player in the sport from the nation to reach the quarterfinals in an edition of the Paralympics. Bhavina defeated Brazil’s Joyce de Oliveira who is ranked 8th in the world rankings, in straight sets to record a comprehensive win by a 12-10, 13-11 & 11-6 margin. While Joyce kicked off the opening game with a lead picking up points at regular intervals, the Indian paddler made a comeback to close the gap down to 7-7. Egged on by her enthusiastic coach, Bhavina battled it out in a superb 22-shot rally in the first game. The Brazilian took a lead from 7-7, with two game points making it 9-7. Bhavina continued to fight it out, increasing the scoreline to 9-9 before saving a game point. With momentum in her favour, the Indian paddler sealed the first game 12-10 having been down 9-10 at one stage.
The second game witnessed a similar pattern to that in the first, with Joyce holding an early lead following an extremely close start. The Brazilian held a 7-5 lead before increasing the same to 9-6 in a fine manner. However, Bhavina who has showcased her ability to make a stunning comeback, completed a super smash to close the lead to 7-9 before making it 9-10 with a couple of brilliant points. This certainly seemed to have had an impact on the Brazilian who called for a timeout, with two game points conceded. Bhavina maintained her momentum after the game resumed, saving three game points to make it 10-10. The Indian ensured a strong focus till the very end, pulling off a 13-11 triumph.
Bhavina needed a win in just one more game to seal the encounter and she showcased impressive resolve even in the final match, making a comeback after being 0-3 down. The Indian maintained the pressure on Joyce who seemed down on confidence, pulling off a 11-6 triumph. Bhavina will be taking on Borislava Peric-Rankovic who is currently the world No 2 (and a former world No 1) in the quarterfinals. She is a veteran of the sport, and one of the legends who is showcasing impressive resolve even at 49. The paddler is a two-time silver medallist from 2008 and 2012, and went one step further in 2016 to win gold.
Bhavina had defeated Great Britain’s Megan Shackleton who is ranked ninth in the world rankings, by a margin of 3-1 with 11-7, 9-11, 17-15, 13-11 being the scoreline, to reach the knockouts. This triumph had further recorded India’s maiden win in the ongoing prestigious event. The Indian athlete made amends for her defeat against Paralympic gold medalist China’s Ying Zhou in their Class 4 Group A round-robin match, delivering a fantastic performance when it mattered the most.
Fans back home will be backing Bhavina to make her presence felt in the upcoming matches, and go on to win a gold medal which would certainly result in a lot of elation and excitement.
