Tokyo, Aug 27 (IANS) | India’s Bhavina Patel assured a medal for the country by reaching the semi-finals of the women’s table tennis singles class 4 at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympic Games here. Bhavina, 34, from Ahmedabad, defeated 2016 Rio Paralympic gold medalist Borislava Perich Rankovi of Serbia 3-0 in straight games to enter the semi-finals.
Bhavina defeated Rankovich 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in a match that lasted 19 minutes. Bhavina is the first Indian female table tennis player to have made it to the semi-finals of the Paralympic Games. Bhavina will face China’s Zhang Mia in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Bhavina had to face defeat at the hands of Zhou Ying of China in the Group A match. After this defeat, he made a strong comeback and won two knockout matches to ensure a medal. Bhavina had earlier made it to the quarter-finals by defeating Brazil’s Giocy de Oliviería 12-10, 13-11, 11-6 in a 23-minute round of 16 round.
#IND Bhavina Patel’s dream run continues! ???? One win away from here GOLD medal. India is proud of you ????????#paralympics #Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/0yScdLROny
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