Asian Para Games 2026: Paddler Bhavina Patel makes winning start

Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Bhavina Patel made a winning start to her Asian Para Games campaign, defeating Kuwait's Ahad Alrasheedi in her opening match in the women's para table tennis competition in Nagoya on Friday.

Bhavina beat her Kuwaiti opponent 3-0 (11-6 11-3 11-6) in the women's singles Class 4-5 Group A match.

Class 4 and Class 5 in para table tennis represent the higher-functioning tiers among wheelchair athletes (Classes 1–5), where players have varying degrees of sitting balance and core or arm control.

Baby Sahana Ravi also defeated Vietnam's Thi Hoa Phuong Nguyen 3-0 (11-6 11-5 11-4) in her women's singles Class 9 Group B match.

Class 9 in para table tennis is a standing sports class for athletes with mild physical impairments affecting their legs or playing arm, or severe impairments of their non-playing arm.

Shubham Wadhwa also won his opening men's singles Class 3 group match, defeating Nepal's Keshav Thapa 3-0 (11-6 11-4, 11-9). Class 3 in para table tennis is a wheelchair sport class for athletes who have no sitting balance, minimal trunk control and normal or near-normal arm and hand function.

Another Indian para athlete, Jehan Madan, made a bright start, beating compatriot Sandeep Dangi 3-1 (11-8 12-10 10-12 11-6) in men's singles Class 1 group match.

Class 1 is the most severe sitting wheelchair class, designated for players who have no sitting balance and a severe reduction of function in their playing arm, typically due to a spinal-cord lesion or polio.

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