The 34-year-old Gujarat-based paddler defeated the defending champion Borislava Peric of Serbia 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in their women’s singles quarterfinal Class 4 category.
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In a historic feat, Bhavina Patel became the first Indian to enter the semifinals of the Paralympic Games Table Tennis competition and guarantee a medal for India on Friday. The 34-year-old Gujarat-based paddler defeated the defending champion and veteran player Borislava Peric of Serbia 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in just 18 minutes in their women’s singles quarterfinal Class 4 category. Bhavina’s opponent in the quarterfinals was a gold as well as a silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. However on Friday, the Indian paddler produced her ‘A-game’ to comfortably win the match. Bhavina will next take on Zhang Miao of China in the semifinals on Saturday. She will be in action in the last-four clash at 6:10 am (IST). With momentum on her side, the Indian paddler will hope to go deep in an attempt to fight for the coveted gold medal.
Earlier, Bhavina, who became the first Indian para-TT player to reach the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday, beat Brazil’s Joyce de Oliveira also in straight games 12-10, 13-11, 11-6. 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 then fought back, 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, with Joyce taking an early lead following an extremely tight start. The Brazilian held a 7-5 lead before increasing the same to 9-6 in a fine manner.
However, Bhavina fought back again, completing a super smash to close the lead to 7-9 before making it 9-10 with a couple of brilliant points. Bhavina maintained her momentum after the game resumed, saving three game points to make it 10-10. The Indian then went on a rampage, pulling off a 13-11 triumph.
Bhavina showed commanding resolve even in the final game, making a comeback after being 0-3 down. The Indian maintained the pressure on Joyce who seemed low on confidence, pulling off a 11-6 triumph to seal the match.
Competing in her maiden Paralympic Games, Bhavina was supported by the Government in terms of international competitions, assistance towards procuring a Robot ‘Butterfly – Amicus Prime’ worth Rs 2.85 lakh, an Ottobock Wheelchair worth Rs 2.74 Lakh and a table. Other assistance included support towards Physiotherapy, Dietician, psychologist and coach fee to prepare for the Paralympic Games besides sport-specific equipment.
Elsewhere, compound para-archer Rakesh Kumar recorded a personal best score of 699 to be third in the Men’s Individual Open Ranking Round. Competing among 36 archers, he will be in action in the Elimination Rounds on Saturday, along with his compatriot Shyam Sundar, who stood 21st. The archers have also been provided financial assistance by the Government towards equipment, six international competitions and national coaching camps besides Sports Science support.
Jyoti Balyan, the only Indian Women’s Compound Archer in the Games, stood 15th in the Ranking Rounds, while Recurve Archers Vivek Chikara and Harvinder Singh were 10th and 21st respectively.
It was tough luck for women’s Powerlifter Sakina Khatun, who finished fifth in the 50kg class with a best bench press of 93kg. Jai Deep, who participated in the men’s 65kg category, finished out of the Top 7.
