Tokyo Paralympics: Bhavina Patel to play for gold medal in the final of table tennis

India's Bhavina Patel beats China's Zhang Miao 3-2 in the semifinals of women's class 4 of the table tennis competition at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday. Bhavina, who assured a medal for India on Friday, reached the final to compete for the gold medal.

This is the first time Bhavina beat World no.3 Miao after failing 11 times on earlier occasions.

Bhavina started the match confidently against Miao levelling at 3-3 in game 1, however, the Chinese went on to have an upper hand over Bhavina, who bagged the game 11-7. A neck-to-neck contest ensued in the second game and Bhavina registered a brilliant comeback to level the match at 1-2, winning game 2 by 11-7.

Bhavina won five points in concession to lead 5-0 in the third game to mark a successful beginning. She went toe-to-toe against the Chinese. Having an edge of eight points, Bhavina won Game 3 by 11-4.

Miao avoided the forehand and a series of good rallies followed up in Game 4 to level it up at 5-5. A 19-shot rally saw Bhavina edging past Miao by 7-6. The fourth game went on to the wire with an 8-8 score and even going on to 9-9. Miao picked up two successive points to force a decider.

Bhavina started with a powerful forehand to seek points in the final game. She was racing ahead with a 5-0 lead. Miao picked up her first point at 1-5 and went on to win two more at 3-6.

Bhavina surged to win the match creating angular shots to outwit Miao. The Chinese showcased an intense comeback from trailing 5-9 to reaching 8-9, winning three points in a row. After a momentary time out, Bhavina won two points in a row to beat Miao and forge her way into the final.