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India’s Bhavina Patel scripts history at Tokyo Paralympics, wins silver

An Indian woman, who wanted to be a teacher but was rejected during job interview due to a disability, has now scripted history. India’s table tennis player Bhavina Patel has won a historic medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Bhavina Hasmukhbhai Patel was declared the winner of the first Paralympics medal for India in Table Tennis on Sunday. The 34-year-old secured a silver medal in the women’s singles class 4 event at the Tokyo Paralympics after losing to China’s Zhou Ying in the final.

Zhou Ying took an early 1-0 lead in the match by winning the first game 11-7. The world number one caused the Indian paddler problems with her backhand shots, and although a close match, she managed to seize the lead.

Ying’s dominance continued in the next round, when she won another game 11-5. The third game was a closer contest than the first two, but the Chinese paddler kept her cool and won 11-6 to claim the gold medal.

The Indian paddler had previously advanced to the final by defeating world no. 3 Miao Zhang of China. On Saturday, Bhavina advanced to the semifinals of the women’s singles Class 4 event with a shocking straight-game triumph over world number two and defending champion Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8.

Bhavina, who was stricken with polio at the age of 12, defeated her Serbian opponent 11-5 11-6 11-7 in an 18-minute quarterfinal encounter.

Bhavina Patel provided some encouraging remarks following her semifinals victory.

She stated that she did not believe herself to be handicapped. Bhavina stated that she was always confident in her ability to do anything, and she has now proven that.

Bhavina, who was born in a wheelchair, attended ordinary schools in Sundhiya village. Bhavina’s family was concerned about her future, but Bhavina never gave up.

According to a source, Bhavina’s first intention was to become a teacher, but that dream was dashed when she was rejected in an interview due to her physical disability. Her family stepped in at this point, lead by her father Hasmukhbhai Patel, who noticed an advertisement for the Blind People’s Association (BPA).

Bhavina was confined in a wheelchair and attended ordinary schools in Sundhiya village. Bhavina’s family was concerned about her future, but she never gave up.

According to a source, Bhavina’s first intention was to become a teacher, but that dream was dashed when she was rejected in an interview due to her physical disability.

Her family stepped in at this point, lead by her father Hasmukhbhai Patel, who noticed an advertisement for the Blind People’s Association (BPA).

Soon after, he enrolled Bhavina in an ITI computer course at the award-winning institute, and Bhavina’s life was revolutionised as she found and fell in love with table tennis.

Bhavina Patel reached another milestone in her life at the Blind People’s Association in Ahmedabad where she was introduced to instructor Lalah Doshi. It was after that she fast became a table tennis player and embarked on a journey that would take her to the Tokyo Paralympics and help her win a position in the sports history of India.

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