Tokyo Paralympics 2020: 'History in the making' Bhavina Patel storms into gold medal match

Bhavina Patel has a chance to clinch the first gold medal for India at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. The 34-year-old has already scripted history by becoming the first paddler from the nation to enter the final of the Paralympics. Patel, who hails from Gujarat, notched a hard-fought 3-2 win over China’s Miao Zhang in a class 4 semi-final on Saturday. She beat her World No 3 Chinese opponent 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 in a match that lasted 34 minutes. “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 said after her win. Although momentum is on her side, she is expected to face a stiff challenge from World No 1 Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the summit clash on Sunday. Reacting to Bhavina’s historic win over China’s Zhang, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as others from the sporting fraternity took to Twitter to congratulate the paddler. Here are a few reactions on the micro-blogging site: Best wishes from PM Modi

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

world class skill and moves by Bhavina. what a match to witness. beauty is all her matches have kept you glued and wanting for more. Amazing practice and improvement in game to take world top players head on Kudos @BhavinaPatel6 getting Chinese to a 2-2 n then win @PTI_News pic.twitter.com/xCCXB2nmkv

— Deepa Malik PLY (@DeepaAthlete) August 28, 2021

Yesss!! Bhavina Patel first beat the Serbian Rio 2016 gold medallist in QF and now beats the beats Rio 2016 silver medallist Zhang in SF of China in 5 tough games to enter the gold medal match in the women's singles class 4 category. #ParaTableTennis  #Tokyo2020  #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/ihKhw3qWmQ

— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) August 28, 2021

HISTORY IN THE MAKING!🇮🇳
Congratulations Bhavina Patel for beating the world number 3 and qualifying for the finals!🙏🏻 #Cheer4India #TeamIndia #TableTennis https://t.co/O0BPMS03nH

— Ravi Kumar Dahiya (@ravidahiya60) August 28, 2021

Never say never!

BHAVINA in the Finals 👏🏾🇮🇳

Beats WR3 & Rio Silver medalist Zhang Miao of China in a thriller 3-2 match!

Bhavina’s backhand was on 🔥with those angular pushes & attacks! Incredible use of the long pimples 👏🏾

So proud of Bhavina👏🏾🥲 #Paralympics #TableTennis #BhavinaPatel pic.twitter.com/IDIs0s635M

— Neha Aggarwal Sharma OLY (@nehaaggarwal) August 28, 2021

Former and current Sports Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Anurag Thakur encouraged Bhavina to go all the way

Congratulations #BhavinaPatel for creating history at #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics
Bhavina Patel defeated China's Zhang Miao and reached the women's singles Class 4 final! #Cheer4India #BhavinaPatel https://t.co/MRV6iCEqA1 https://t.co/c4OMKTf4XZ

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) August 28, 2021

Go Bhavina ! Great game, now for the finale! https://t.co/5Ygn3Q6qb1

— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) August 28, 2021

HISTORY IN THE MAKING!🇮🇳
Congratulations Bhavina Patel for beating the world number 3 and qualifying for the finals!🙏🏻 #Cheer4India #TeamIndia #TableTennis https://t.co/O0BPMS03nH

— Ravi Kumar Dahiya (@ravidahiya60) August 28, 2021

Go for gold!

All the best to Dear Bhavina Patel.
Go for Gold.#Cheer4India #tokyo2020paralympics

— Mouma Das OLY (@MoumaDasTT) August 27, 2021

Bhavina created history in her first Paralympic Games

Huge congratulations Bhavina Patel👏😁
Go for Gold💪 https://t.co/DjR7X6pE9t

— Sathiyan Gnanasekaran OLY (@sathiyantt) August 28, 2021

The winning moment!

Here's how Bhavinaben Patel assured 🇮🇳 of a 🥈 silver medal at the #Paralympics

(📹 courtesy @EurosportIN ) pic.twitter.com/DfnsKNeflt

— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) August 28, 2021

Table Tennis player Bhavina Patel makes it to the finals of the Women’s Singles Class 4 Category in the Tokyo Paralympics! https://t.co/ILqN7lSR9k

— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) August 28, 2021

Can Bhavina clinch the first gold for India at Tokyo Paralympics?

Historic performance by Bhavina Patel at the #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics.

India eyes its first ever gold medal in Table Tennis at the games as the seasoned player enters the finals. pic.twitter.com/JO5s5AzG3a

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 28, 2021