Tokyo Paralympics: Bhavina Patel clinches a thrilling encounter to make her way into the Round of 16

Tokyo Paralympics: Bhavina Patel clinches a thrilling encounter to make her way into the Round of 16

Bhavina Patel

Para paddler Bhavina Patel has sealed a Round of 16 berth at the Tokyo Paralympics with a stunning win. Patel clinched an edge of the seat thriller against Great Britain’s Megan Shackleton to advance to the next round. The 3-1 win was the Indian’s first in the event.

Patel made a great start as she dominated the first game which she took home 11-7. The next two games saw Megan fighting back as she managed to win the second. The third game, the most thrilling of the four played, saw the Brit maintain a two-point lead until the very end before Patel bounced back to produce six deuces before pocketing the game 17-15.

Bhavina Patel bounces back to finish group stage on a high

Bhavina Patel
Bhavina Patel

With a win in her second group game, Bhavina Patel finished second on the table and advanced to the Round of 16. While the Indian has made it to the next round, she didn’t have a great start to the campaign. Bhavina lost her opening encounter to China’s Ying Zhou in straight games of 3-11, 9-11, 2-11.

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Despite a setback early on, the ace paddler didn’t give up and came roaring back to secure a berth in the Round of 16. Another Indian paddler Sonalben Patel too got off on the wrong foot at the Tokyo Paralympics. She lost her opening game to Qian Li in a thrilling five-game match. Sonalben goes toe to toe with Korea’s Mi Gyu Lee in her second game and will have to win the game in straight sets to make it to the next round.

Also Read | Here is the Indian Contingent’s Full 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games Schedule