Tokyo Paralympics, table tennis: Bhavina Patel becomes first Indian paddler to reach quarterfinals

Bhavinaben Patel on Friday became the first Indian table tennis player to enter the quarterfinals at Paralympics. She notched a strong win over Joyce de Oliveira of Brazil in the women’s singles Class 4 event at the Tokyo Games.

The 34-year-old Indian beat her Brazillian opponent 12-10, 13-11, 11-6 in a Round of 16 contest that lasted 23 minutes.

She will meet defending champion Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in the quarterfinals later in the day.

India at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, day 3 live

“My strategy was to play more towards the body of my opponent and that was what my coach told me. I executed my plans,” Patel said after the match.

“My next opponent is world number two, so I have to really focus on my game and hope to win the match.”

#Tokyo2020 #Paralympics #TableTennis: #IND‘s Bhavina Patel speaks after her round of 16 win, looking forward to the quarterfinal coming up later today.

🎥 SAI Media pic.twitter.com/Nb1YUEYf9T

— The Field (@thefield_in) August 27, 2021

Earlier, the Indian had entered the Round of 16 after winning one match and losing the other group game.

She is the only Indian left in the fray in the table tennis competition after compatriot Sonalben Patel lost both her group matches on Thursday to bow out.

Athletes in Class 4 category have fair sitting…

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