2020 Paralympics | Indian paddlers Sonalben Patel and Bhavaniben Patel lose opening tie
Indian paddlers Sonalben Patel and Bhavaniben Patel crashed out in the opening tie of the ongoing 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. The contingent, consisting of 54 athletes across 9 disciplines is participating in the mega event, which kick-started with a glittering opening ceremony on Tuesday.
The Indian contingent returned with a record-shattering seven-medal haul from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, including Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold medal triumph. With less than a month down the line, 54 athletes across 9 disciplines are appearing in Tokyo for the 2020 Paralympics. The mega event started with a glittering opening ceremony on Tuesday evening.
On the opening day of the quadrennial event, Indian paddlers Sonalben Manubhai Patel and Bhavaniben Patel crashed out after losing their round one fixtures. Appearing in the women’s Class 3 category, Sonalben was up against China’s Li Qian, who had the better of the Indian with scores of 11-9, 3-11, 17-15, 7-11 4-11.
Meanwhile, Bhvaniben, pitted against the world no one, Zhou Ying of China, succumbed to a one-sided loss with the final scores reading 3-11, 9-11, 2-11 against her favour, in the women’s Class 4 fixture.
Six members of the contingent, including the initial flag-bearer Mariyappan Thangavelu, missed out on the opening ceremony yesterday after they came in close contact with Covid-19 positive cases.