Tokyo Paralympics: Paddler Bhavina Patel enters final

Bhavinaben Patel entered the final of Tokyo Paralympics table tennis women's singles class 4 event on Saturday. She defeated China's Zhang Miao 7-11,11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8.

By entering the semifinals on Friday, Bhavina secured the first medal for India in Table Tennis in Paralympics and the country's first medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.

After losing the first set 7-11, the Indian came back strongly to take the second 11-7 by winning six points on her own serve. The third set saw a comprehensive win by Bhavina with a scoreline of 11-4. The Indian took the early lead at the beginning of the set, helping her win by a huge margin.

However, Bhavina lost the fourth set before the Indian made another brilliant comeback in the deciding set to clinch a spot in the final.

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"This is a big achievement as everyone says beating China is very difficult but I have proved today nothing is impossible if you want it from all your heart," Bhavina told ANI. "Tomorrow is my final match and I am preparing for the same. I want everyone to keep praying for me so that I can perform well," she added.

"If I keep on performing like this, I will definitely win the gold medal. I never thought of reaching the finals and only concentrated on giving my 100 per cent and I did that only," said Bhavina in a Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) video.

"And when you give your 100 per cent you can win a medal. I am mentally ready for the finals and I just want to give my 100 per cent," she added.

The Indian would be facing another Chinese opponent, Zhou Ying, a player she had lost to in the group stages in the final on Sunday.

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Archery

Indian archer Rakesh Kumar defeated Hong Kong's Ngai Ka Chuen 144-131 to win his 1/16 elimination match of men's individual compound event.

However, his fellow compatriot S.S Swami  went down 139-142 against Matt Stutzman of the USA in the individual compound open 1/16 elimination round.

With this win, Rakesh will face Slovakia's Marian Marecak, who had finished 14th in the ranking round, in the men's individual compound 1/8 elimination round on August 31.

(With inputs from ANI)