Becomes only the second Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics after Deepa Malik

Bhavinaben Patel today became only the second Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics after she signed off with a historic silver following a 0-3 loss to world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the Women’s Singles Table Tennis Class 4 final in Tokyo. The 34-year-old Patel’s impressive run at the Games ended with a fighting 7-11 5-11 6-11 loss to Zhou, a two-time gold medallist, in the Women’s Singles summit clash which lasted 19 minutes. With this medal, Indian team opened its account at the Games.

Deepa Malik, who is the current President of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), was the first Indian woman to win a medal in the Paralympic Games when she had claimed a silver in shot-put at Rio five years back.

Patel, a wheelchair player, had also suffered a loss to Zhou in her first group stage match earlier in the week.