Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Bhavinaben Patel becomes first Indian TT player to enter Paralympic quarters

Tokyo: Bhavinaben Patel on Friday became the first Indian table tennis player to enter the Paralympic quarter-finals with a dominating 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 Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in the quarter-finals later in the day. Athletes in Class 4 category have fair sitting balance and fully functional arms and hands. Their impairment may be due to a lower spinal-cord lesion or cerebral palsy. “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 No 2, so I have to really focus on my game and hope to win the match.” 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 Manubhai Patel lost both her group matches on Thursday to bow out.