The opening matches of the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics saw paddlers Sonal Patel and Bhavinaben playing in women’s singles matches in group A and group D category of table tennis. While one of India’s daughters has managed to keep our hopes alive, there is a disappointment from another.
Earlier on Thursday, Bhavinaben Patel knocked out her British competitor paddler Megan Shackleton and entered the round 16 or knockout round of the match. She beat Megan in 11-7, 9-11, 17-15, and 13-11 in the four matches that she played against her.
On the other hand, paddler Sonal Patel lost to Lee Mi Gyu of South Korea in 12-10, 5-11, 3-11, and 9-11 in the four matches that she played opposite Lee. With this defeat, Sonal crashed out of the women’s singles class 3 group D league. But hopes are still high with paddler Bhavinaben as she has qualified for the knockout rounds.
Nevertheless, we should not be disappointed so soon as we have enough matches to live by in the coming days. As of Friday, there are matches of Indian para-athletes in the categories of swimming, archery, and powerlifting. India has sent its largest para-athletes contingent to the Tokyo Paralympics games this year. A total of 54 para-athletes have taken part in the game across 9 sports disciplines.
Also read Satyanarayana Named the New Coach of Indian Para-Athletes
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