Bhavinaben creates history in table tennis, in Paralympic final
Beats China’s Miao Zhang 3-2 in a tough Class 4 contest
India’s Bhavinaben Patel scripted history by becoming the first Indian to reach the finals of the Paralympic table tennis event, defeating China’s Miao Zhang 3-2 in a tough Class 4 event. Patel surprised everyone in the Indian camp by defeating the world number three 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8. Now she will face world number one Ying Zhou of China.
Bhavina, daughter of Hasmukhbhai Patel, who runs a small grocery shop in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, was not even considered a medal contender, but she created history with her performance. Patel, who was a victim of polio at the age of twelve months, said, ‘When I came here, I only thought of giving my 100 percent. If you can do this then you will get the medal automatically. That’s what I thought. She said, ‘If I keep playing with this confidence and with the blessings of my countrymen, I will definitely get gold tomorrow. I am ready for the final and will give my 100 per cent. Patel, who plays in wheelchair, lost the first game but later came back to life winning both the games. It took them only four minutes to win the third game. In the fourth game, the Chinese made a comeback but in the deciding fifth game, Patel registered a thrilling victory to enter the final.
Patel had defeated 2016 Rio Paralympic gold medalist and world number two Borislava Perich Rankovi in the charter final. Patel started playing in the blind association 13 years ago in Vastrapur area of Ahmedabad where she was a student of ITI for the differently abled. Later he saw children with visual impairments playing table tennis and decided to take up the sport.
