BHAVINABEN BEATS WORLD NO. 2 TO ENTER TT SEMI-FINALS

TOKYO: India’s para table tennis player Bhavinaben Hasmukhbhai Patel stormed into the semi-final by defeating World Number 2 Serbia’s Borislava Peric-Rankovic 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the women’s singles -- Class 4 here at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium -- Table 5 on Friday.

Bhavina Patel overwhelmed the defending champion Borislava Peric-Rankovic in straight sets by 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in just 18 minutes.

On Friday she also became the first Indian table tennis player to enter the Paralympic quarterfinals with a dominating win over Joyce de Oliveira of Brazil in the women’s singles Class 4 event at the Tokyo Games here.

The 34-year-old Indian beat her Brazillian opponent 12-10 13-11, 11-6 in a Round of 16 contest that lasted 23 minutes.

She will meet Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in the quarterfinals later in the day.

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.

“My strategy was to play more towards the body of my opponent and that was what my coach told me. I executed my plans,” Patel said after the match.

“My next opponent is world number two, so I have to really focus on my game and hope to win the match.” Earlier, the Indian had entered the Round of 16 after winning one match and losing the other group game.

She is the only Indian left in the fray in the table tennis competition after compatriot Sonalben Manubhai Patel lost both her group matches on Thursday to bow out.