Paralympics 2024: Bhavina advances to quarters, Sonalben bows out

India’s Bhavinaben Patel, the silver medallist from the Tokyo Paralympics, secured a comfortable victory in the round of 16 at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

She defeated Mexico’s Martha Verdin 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 in the women's singles class 4 table tennis event on Sunday.

With this win, the 37-year-old athlete from Gujarat has booked her place in the quarterfinals.

Competing in the Women's Singles - WS4 category, which features athletes playing in wheelchairs with functional arms and hands due to impairments such as lower spinal cord injuries or cerebral palsy, Bhavina demonstrated her dominance throughout the match.

She comfortably won all three games against Verdin.

However, Bhavina now faces a challenging quarterfinal match against Zhou Ying of China, a three-time singles champion and the defending Paralympic champion.

Ying defeated Bhavina in the final of the Tokyo Paralympics, making their upcoming encounter a highly anticipated and difficult test for the Indian paddler.

Diagnosed with polio at a young age, Bhavina’s journey in para table tennis began in 2009 when she won the national championship.

Since then, she has continued to excel, earning gold at the 2022 Para Commonwealth Games and bronze at the 2022 Para Asian Games.

Meanwhile Sonalben Patel bowed out in the Round of 16, losing to Andela Muzinic of Croatia 3-11, 12-10, 7-11, 5-11.

This marks the end of her women's singles WS3 campaign.