Bhavina wins historic silver at Tokyo Paralympics

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India’s Bhavinaben Patel scripted history on Sunday with a silver medal finish in the women’s table tennis singles at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo as she went down fighting in the final against her formidable Chinese opponent who won a gold medal for the third time in a row.</p>
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Bhavinaben had on Saturday beaten China’s Miao Zhang to become the first Indian to enter the final of the women’s table tennis (Class 4) finals. She had in a tough match trounced the world No 3 Chinese player.</p>
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Hailing from Mehsana in Gujarat, Bhavina Patel was diagnosed with polio as an infant. Now 34, she plays table tennis on a wheelchair and has won a number of gold and silver medals in national as well as international competitions.</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>  <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/culture-news/tokyo-paralympics-bhavinaben-becomes-first-indian-to-reach-table-tennis-final-110885.html">Tokyo Paralympics: Bhavinaben becomes first Indian to reach table tennis final</a></p>
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She is ranked world number 2 with a silver medal win for the country iat the PTT Table Tennis Championship held in Thailand in 2011.</p>
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The gritty Bhavina has also had to battle tough financial problems to realise her dream as a sportsperson. The Ahmedabad-based Blind People’s Association (BPA) rose to the occasion to extend support to the para-athlete recently.</p>
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The Target Olympic Podium Scheme also included Patel in their scheme of providing financial support to youth athletes in 2020. A proposal of more than Rs 7,00,000 was sanctioned by the committee.</p>
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In October 2013, Patel won another silver medal in the women’s singles Class 4 at the Asian Para table tennis championships held in Beijing in 2013 and a bronze at the Para Table Tennis Championship in 2017 which was also held in Beijing.</p>