Sonalben Patel exited the tournament in the group stage.
India’s para table tennis player Bhavina Patel defeated Megan Shackleton of Great Britain 3-1 in a thrilling match of Group A in women’s singles – Class 4 in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics on Thursday.
Bhavina saved a game point in the fourth game and then took the lead to clinch the match. With this 3-1 win (11-7, 9-11, 17-15, 13-11) Bhavina has qualified for the next round of the Tokyo Paralympics.
The Indian paddler got off to a good start, as she took the lead in the first game, but Shackleton bounced back. However, Bhavina continued her fine form and won the first game 11-7. The second game started off with both players fighting hard for the points. After an intense battle, Shackleton got the better of the Indian star and won it 11-9.
In the third game, the battle went down the wire, but eventually, Bhavina held her nerve to win 17-15. In the fourth game, the points were tied at 11-11, but the Indian paddler again showed her composure in the final moments. A 13-11 victory sealed the match for her.
On Wednesday, Bhavina had lost to World No. 1 China’s Zhou Ying in the opening Group A encounter. Ying overwhelmed Bhavina 3-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-2) in just 18 minutes. With three points from two games, Bhavina Patel moves to the knockout round of the Tokyo Paralympics. Her Round of 16 opponent will be Joyce de Oliveira of Brazil.
Sonalben’s campaign comes to an end
Another Indian table tennis player in action was Sonalben Patel. She had lost her opening match against Li Qian of China. Therefore, she needed a win to keep her Tokyo Paralympics hopes alive on Thursday.
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Sonalben was facing the challenge of South Korea’s Lee Mi-gyu in a must-win match. She started well to come from 8-10 down to claim the first game 12-10. However, the South Korean paddler came storming back to win the next three games in comprehensive fashion. The final score read 10-12, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9 in favour of Lee. Therefore, the defeat ends Sonalben Patel’s journey at the Tokyo Paralympics.
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