Tokyo: India's para table tennis player Bhavina Patel defeated Megan Shackleton of Great Britain 3-1 in a thrilling match of Group A in women's singles - Class 4 in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics on Thursday.
Bhavina saved the game point in the fourth game and then took the lead to clinch the match. With this 3-1 win (11-7, 9-11, 17-15, 13-11) Bhavina has qualified for the next round.
Bhavina got off to a good start as she took a lead in the first game but Shackleton bounced back. However, the Indian paddler continued her fine form and won the first game 11-7.
The second game started off with both players fighting hard for the points. After an intense battle, Shackleton got the better of Bhavina in the second game and won it 11-9.
In the third game, the battle went down the wire, but Bhavina won 17-15.
In the fourth game points were tied at 11-11 but Bhavina finally won 13-11 and sealed the match.
On Wednesday, Bhavina had lost to China's Zhou Ying 3-0 in women's singles - Class 4 of Group A. Ying overwhelmed Bhavina 3-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-2) in just 18 minutes.
Also, India paddler Sonal Patel suffered a defeat against China's Qian Li by 3-2 in her opening match of Group D in women's singles - class 3 on Wednesday.
World number 4 Qian Li defeated Sonal in five sets 3-2 (9-11, 11-3, 15-17, 11-7, 11-4) in 36 minutes. Sonal Patel will now take on South Korea's Mi Gyu Lee later on Thursday in her second Group D match.
"I want to do better in the coming matches. Today, I tried to remain patient and continued to focus on the ball, did not let myself to be distracted by any negative thoughts," she said after the win.
"I am very happy as I came through a tough match, after a point-to point fight with my opponent. I did not give up."
This was Patel's first win in the tournament as she was blanked 0-3 by world number one Chinese paddler Zhou Ying in the opening round on Wednesday.
Patel has three points from two games and moves to the knockout round along with table leader Ying.
Athletes in Class 4 category have fair sitting balance and fully functional arms and hands. Their impairment may be due to a lower spinal-cord lesion or cerebral palsy.
The other Indian paddler in the fray, Sonalben Manubhai Patel will be in action later in the day.
