- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN table tennis player Bhavinaben Patel on Saturday (28) created history by becoming the first Indian to reach the final of the sporting discipline in the Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.
She beat China’s Miao Zhang, world no.3, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 in a hard fought semi-final match in the class 4 category that lasted 34 minutes. This was Patel’s first victory against the former world no.1 in 12 meetings.
The 34-year-old paddler will take on current world No.1 Ying Zhou, also from China, in the title clash on Sunday (29).
Patel, who is competing in her maiden Paralympics, ensured a medal at the mega event on Friday (27) when she beat Serbia’s Borislava Peric Rankovic, the world no.2 who won gold in the 2016 edition of the Paralympics.
In the semi-final, Patel lost the opening game which was a tight contest. She came back strongly by claiming the next two games. The Chinese then made it 2-2 in the fourth game before the Indian showed her class to have the last laugh.
Patel said after making the final that she doesn’t consider herself as disabled and her performance at the Tokyo Paralympic Games proves that “nothing is impossible”.
“…I don’t consider myself as disabled, I am always confident I can do anything and today I also proved that we are not behind and para table tennis is as ahead as other sports,” Patel, who was diagnosed with polio when she was 12 months old, said.
“I fought against China and it is always said that it is difficult to win against China. Today I proved that nothing is impossible, you can do everything…,” she added.
The wheelchair-bound Indian player said focussing on the mental aspect of the game helped her during the match. “My schedule used to start at 4am and I used to focus more on my mind, through meditation and yoga I learnt to keep myself calm. During matches, sometimes we make mistakes in a hurry and we lose points but I could control my thoughts today,” she said.
“I want to thank the coaches, who taught me tricks and technique because of them I have been able to reach here,” she said. She also acknowledged the support that she received from different quarters.
“When a player doesn’t get financial support, it becomes difficult to move ahead in sport because the expenses of playing tournaments are so huge and it is difficult to afford for a middle class family but SAI, TOPS, PCI, government, OGQ, Blind People’s Association, my family, all have supported me,” she added.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi congratulated Patel on her feat by saying on Twitter, “Congratulations Bhavina Patel! You played excellently. The entire nation is praying for your success and will be cheering for you tomorrow. Give your best and play without any pressure. Your accomplishments inspire the entire nation.”
Congratulations Bhavina Patel! You played excellently.
The entire nation is praying for your success and will be cheering for you tomorrow. Give your best and play without any pressure. Your accomplishments inspire the entire nation. #Paralympics
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2021
Patel hails from Sundhiya village in Mehsana district of Gujarat, the home state of Modi.
Indian National Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor was also elated over Patel’s show. In a tweet, he said, “Congratulations, Bhavina Patel, on becoming the first-ever Indian to win a table-tennis medal at the Tokyo Paralympics!”
Congratulations, Bhavina Patel, on becoming the first-ever Indian to win a table-tennis medal at the Tokyo Paralympics! pic.twitter.com/UVQHAHSnZK
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 28, 2021
