Tokyo Paralympics: Bhavina Patel reveals how missing Rio Games proved a blessing in disguise to her

She
became
only
the
second
Indian
woman
to
win
a
medal
at
the
Paralympics
after
she
signed
off
with
a
silver
medal
following
a
0-3
loss
to
world
number
one
Chinese
paddler
Ying
Zhou
in
the
women’s
singles
table
tennis
class
4
final.

Bhavina
–
who
missed
out
on
Rio
Paralympics
due
to
logistical
issues
–
made
the
most
of
the
opportunity
in
Tokyo
and
returned
with
a
medal
in
her
debut
Games.
Due
to
some
issues
with
her
documents,
she
couldn’t
travel
to
Rio
but
now
believes
that
it
was
a
blessing
in
disguise.

Tokyo
Paralympics:
Gujarat
Govt
announces
Rs
3
crore
to
silver
medallist
Bhavina
Patel

“Had
that
not
happened,
probably
I
would
not
have
been
here
with
a
medal.
I
want
to
tell
all
the
ladies
out
there
trying
to
break
away
the
stereotypes
to
believe
in
themselves
and
just
go
for
it,”
she
was
quoted
as
saying
by
International
Paralympic
Committee.

The
34-year-old
Patel’s
impressive
run
at
the
Games
ended
with
a
fighting
7-11
5-11
6-11
loss
to
Zhou,
a
two-time
gold
medallist,
in
the
women’s
singles
summit
clash
which
lasted
19
minutes.
With
this
medal,
the
Indian
contingent
opened
its
account
at
the
Games.

Bhavina
expressed
happiness
after
winning
silver
but
conceded
that
nervousness
got
the
better
of
her
in
the
final
which
cost
her.

Tokyo
Paralympics
2020:
Bhavina
Patel
wins
historic
silver
medal
in
table
tennis

“I’m
extremely
delighted
to
win
a
medal
but
also
a
bit
disappointed
as
well.
I
got
a
bit
nervous,”
Patel
added
further.

Patel,
a
wheelchair
player,
had
also
suffered
a
loss
to
Zhou,
one
of
the
most
decorated
para-paddlers
of
China,
in
her
first
group
stage
match
earlier
in
the
week.
However,
the
Gujarat
paddler
exuded
confidence
that
she’ll
prevail
over
Zhou
when
she
faces
her
next
time.

“I
can
only
assure
you
that
next
time
I
meet
her
you
will
see
a
different
me.
She
clearly
got
the
better
of
me
and
had
all
the
shots
in
her
book
to
outsmart
by
effort.
However,
this
medal
will
go
a
long
way
and
I
can
assure
you
that,”
she
said.

Bhavina
Patel
wins
silver
medal
at
Tokyo
Paralympics:
Rahul
Gandhi,
Arvind
Kejriwal
congratulate
her

Up
against
an
opponent,
who
has
five
Paralympic
medals
to
her
name
including
gold
medals
in
singles
at
Beijing
and
London,
Patel
seemed
to
struggle
in
the
final
as
she
couldn’t
execute
her
strategy
and
was
left
to
do
the
catch-up
job.

Zhou,
a
six-time
World
Championship
medallist,
didn’t
allow
Patel,
currently
ranked
12th
in
her
division,
to
find
her
angled
returns
and
get
into
a
rally.
In
the
first
game,
Zhou
broke
off
from
3-3
to
move
ahead.

Patel
tried
to
keep
herself
within
touching
distance
with
a
superb
serve
at
5-7
and
a
forehand
flick
but
the
Chinese
managed
to
earn
the
bragging
right
with
a
deep
push
at
the
baseline.

The
second
game
was
a
one-way
traffic
as
Zhou
jumped
to
a
7-1
lead
early
on.
Patel
narrowed
it
down
to
4-7
but
the
Chinese
soon
grabbed
a
2-0
lead.
Pushed
to
the
brink,
Patel
tried
to
script
a
recovery
as
she
moved
neck
and
neck
with
her
opponent
till
5-5
in
the
third
game.
But
Zhou
once
again
moved
ahead
and
sealed
the
contest
with
a
backhand
shot.

In
para
table
tennis,
classes
1-5
are
for
wheelchair
athletes.
Athletes
in
the
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.

Patel,
who
was
diagnosed
with
polio
when
she
was
12
months
old,
started
playing
the
sport
13
years
ago
at
the
Blind
People’s
Association
at
Vastrapur
area
of
Ahmedabad
where
she
was
a
student
of
ITI
for
people
with
disabilities.
There,
she
saw
visually
impaired
children
playing
table
tennis
and
decided
to
take
up
the
sport.

Patel
hoped
her
success
will
help
change
the
perception
of
people
towards
disability
and
create
more
opportunities.
“What
I
went
through
growing
up,
I
don’t
want
the
next
generation
of
people
with
disabilities
to
suffer,”
she
said.

“Accessibility
is
a
major
issue
and
so
are
jobs
and
other
opportunities.
If
my
medal
can
somehow
make
the
right
noise
and
get
people
at
the
helm
of
affairs
to
be
heard,
I
will
be
more
than
happy.

“I
know
it
would
happen
as
millions
were
praying
for
me
back
home,
thanks
for
all
their
support.”

(With
agency
inputs)