Tokyo Paralympics: Bhavina Patel's father confident of paddler's gold win

Bhavinaben Hasmukhbhai Patel, India's para table tennis player has reached to the semi-finals in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics 2020, which has assured first medal for India. Her father, Hasmukhbhai Patel made a statement to ANI on Saturday, August 28, saying that he is assured of a gold medal win by his daughter. He said, "I am very happy today. Bhavina Patel is definitely going to win a gold medal. For the last 20 years, she is playing Table Tennis”. The player had a Class 4 match today, during which she defeated player Zhang Miao of China with a score of 3-2.

Bhavina Patel's father assured of gold win

On Friday, the 34-year-old Bhavina Patel won India's first Paralympic medal in table tennis. On Friday, Bhavina, who came through a three-player group to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals, In the women's singles Class 4 event, the 34-year-old Gujarat-based paddler defeated the defending champion and veteran Borislava Peric of Serbia. The score was 11-5 11-6 11-7 in just 18 minutes. She had an intensive match earlier in the day to beat Joyce de Oliveira of Brazil in three consecutive games.

Previously, the player had said, "If I keep on performing like this, I will definitely win the gold medal. I never thought of reaching the finals and only concentrated on giving my 100 per cent and I did that only”. She had added, "And when you give your 100 per cent you can win a medal. I am mentally ready for the finals and I just want to give my 100 per cent".

Bhavina Patel's journey as an international table tennis player

Being number 8 in the world , Bhavina Patel is a para-athlete with a lot of experience. The paddler has competed in 28 tournaments in her 13-year career, winning 26 of them. There are five gold, thirteen silver, and eight bronze medals in total won by her. In 2013, Bhavina won India's first-ever silver medal in the Asian Regional Championships. She competed in international tournaments all over the world, including Jordan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Germany, Indonesia, Slovenia, Thailand, Spain, the Netherlands, and Egypt, but she never won a gold medal. At the 2019 International Para Table Tennis Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, the player won her first gold medal in singles. She had made her international debut in 2009 at Jordan.

About Bhavinaben Hasmukhbhai Patel 

She was born on November 6, 1986, in Sundhiya village, Vadnagar, Gujarat's Mehsana district. She had contracted poliomyelitis at the age of 12 months. Her father, who came from a middle-class family, was unable to obtain her medical attention when she was younger. Despite having to care for a family of five, he was able to have Bhavina operated on in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. However, the surgery did not result in the intended results since Bhavana was negligent towards the rehab protocol. Bhavina had been confined to a wheelchair since a young age and attended conventional schools in Sundhiya village. Her father enrolled her in the Blind People's Association in Ahmedabad in 2004, where she took a computer course and also completed her degree via correspondence. She was introduced to Lalah Doshi, a table tennis instructor, and she quickly turned into a player too to maintain fitness. She won her first national title in Para Table Tennis Nationals in Bangalore in 2007 after three years of practice.

Next match against China's player on August 29, 2021

On Sunday, August 29, Bhavina Patel will compete for gold against China's Zhou Ying. Bhavina made history at the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday, becoming the first Indian at this year's event to reach the semi-finals of the women's singles Class 4 event. She defeated World No. 2 Borislava Rankovic of Serbia. Bhavina Patel's victory in the quarter-final also assured India's first medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.

With inputs from ANI

IMAGE: ANI