2021 Paralympics | Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel enters semi-final, assures herself of a medal
India’s Bhavinaben Patel created history by becoming the first paddler from the country to win a medal in the Paralympics. She assured herself of a podium finish after qualifying for the semi-final of Class 4 event with a win over world number 5 Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia, on Friday.
In spite of starting the campaign with a loss, Indian Table Tennis star Bhavinaben Patel made an extraordinary comeback and has assured herself of a medal at the on-going 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. She secured herself of a podium finish, the first by any Indian paddler at the mega-event, with a win over world number 5 Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia, on Friday, in Tokyo.
Bhavinaben Patel blanked her opponent in the best-of-five clash, having won three straight games with scores of 11-5, 11-6, 11-7. She will face China’s Zhang Miao in the semi-final on Friday, with even a loss guaranteeing her a bronze, as there is no third-place play-off at the Paralympics.
"It is sure that we can see a medal from her. Tomorrow morning's match (semifinal) is a huge decider what colour of the medal she will win," said Paralympic Committee president Deepa Malik.
Meanwhile, Bhavinaben also seemed pretty confident about her semi-final clash, which takes place on Saturday.
"I could win my semifinal match due to the support of the people of India. Please keep supporting me so that I can win my semifinal match," said Bhavinaben Patel, after her quarter-final match.