Tokyo: India’s Bhavina Patel came back from a game deficit to stun World No 3 Zhang Miao of China 3-2 in the semifinals of Women’s Singles Class 4 at the Paralympic Games here on Saturday.
After losing the first game 7-11, the 34-year-old Bhavina fought back brilliantly to beat Miao, the Rio Paralympic Games silver medallist, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 in the 34-minute contest, and sealed a place in the final.
First-time Paralympian Bhavina has now assured India at least a silver medal, the first in table tennis at the Paralympic Games. India’s 12 medals at the Paralympics so far have come from three sports — athletics, powerlifting, and swimming.
In the final, Bhavina will take on another Chinese Zhou Ying to whom she had lost in straight games in her first match in Tokyo Paralympics in the group stages.
It is a sensational comeback for the Indian paddler as she not only made it past the preliminary round but also beat three strong opponents including the Rio 2016 gold medallist Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia to reach the semifinals.
Ms Kalinga