Tokyo Paralympics: Bhavina Patel defeats Great Britain's Megan Shackleton to qualify for knockouts

Bhavina Patel showed great skill and mental strength in a close encounter, delivering a fantastic performance.

Indian paddler Bhavina Patel lost her first match of Tokyo Paralympics against Zhou Ying; Credit: Twitter/@PBNS_India
By Arnab Mukherji | Aug 26, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Indian paddler Bhavina Patel has become the first athlete from the nation to qualify for the knockouts of an event, in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics. Bhavina 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. This triumph has further recorded India’s maiden win in the ongoing prestigious event. The Indian athlete made amends for her defeat yesterday 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.

The opening game of the encounter witnessed a fierce combat initially with the scoreline reading 5-5 at the halfway stage. However, Bhavina managed to maintain her composure in this tense scenario with some classy gameplay to pull off a 11-7 win. The paddler won twice as many points on serve as her opponent, making her presence felt. This indicated that Bhavina had learned her lessons from the defeat, having conceded a lot of points early in the previous encounter.

The second game was even more fiercely fought with the scoreline initially reading 3-3, followed by 6-6 and eventually 9-9. It was anybody’s game from that point onwards and Megan seized the opportunity to showcase her prowess. She picked up the next two points from 9-9, winning the second game 9-11. Bhavina lost seven points on her own serve in this game, in comparison to game 1 reflecting the contrast.

Bhavina’s decisive win determines proceedings

With the match leveled at 1-1 following the British paddler’s win, Megan took advantage of the tilt in momentum her way, starting off the third match confidently. She took an early 4-2 lead, which was maintained further on as evident from the 7-5 scoreline. However, Bhavina made a fine comeback at this point, taking a 9-8 lead.

Just like the previous two games, this clash also witnessed some fierce competition during the deciding moments with the scoreline stretching from 12-12 to 15-15. However, the Indian managed to hold her own in this scenario, pulling off a 17-15 win. Both players had chances to seal the game, but it was Bhavina who eventually managed to take a crucial 2-1 lead.

Another triumph at this stage would have seen the Indian through to the knockouts. Bhavina had been guilty of conceding from a similar stage in her defeat yesterday, which was a fear at the back of the mind of fans back home.

The Indian conceded the advantage after fighting it out till a 5-5 scoreline in game 4, with Megan taking a 8-5 lead. The Britisher further stretched her lead to 10-7, resulting in multiple game point opportunities. However, Bhavina was not going to give up as easily, making it 10-10 in a stunning turnaround. While the Britisher managed to save the Indian’s game point at 11-10, she could not hold on much longer with the paddler sealing the match in four games.

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.