Bhavinaben Patel became the first Indian table tennis player to win a medal at the Paralympics. The 34-year-old paddler won a silver -- India's first medal at the Tokyo Paralympics -- in the women's singles table tennis (Class 4) event on Sunday. Her stunning run in the competition included wins over the World No.9, 8, 2 and 3. But her opponent in the final, World No.1 Zhou Ying of China, proved to be too good on the day, emerging victorious by a scoreline of 11-7, 11-5, 11-6.
Her heartbreaking loss in the final aside, Bhavaniben Patel had a spectacular run at the Tokyo Paralympics, and her fine showing won her praise from the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra.
Cricket legend took to Twitter to congratulate Bhavaniben Patel on her "historic achievement".
"What a wonderful news for all on #NationalSportsDay. Congratulations on the silver medal @BhavinaPatel6. This is a historic achievement! Every medal we win will inspire millions into the sport, & sow the seeds for more medals in future. Good start for us at #Paralympics," tweeted the Master Blaster.
India's first individual gold medallist at the Olympics, Abhinav Bindra applauded Bhavinaben Patel's "show of skill and mental resilience".
"Fantastic performance by @BhavinaPatel6 to bag a silver and open India's account in the #Tokyo2020 @Paralympics. Wonderful show of skill and mental resilience. Extremely proud! #Praise4Para," Bindra wrote on Twitter.
Many others too took to Twitter to congratulate Bhavinaben Patel.
In para table tennis, classes 1-5 are for wheelchair athletes. 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.