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Tokyo: Bhavinaben Patel on Friday created history by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to win a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, setting the tone for a contingent cheering for their best performance at the Games.
Feeding on the momentum generated by India’s best performances in previous Olympics, Patel, competing in her first Paralympics, ensured a podium for herself by entering the semi-finals, with Serbia’s stunning straight games over world number five Borislava Peri Rankovi. The victory was recorded. Singles Class 4 Event.
The 34-year-old, who was diagnosed with polio at the age of 12, defeated his Serbian rival 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in a quarter-final match that lasted 18 minutes.
“I was able to win my match today because of the support of the people of India. Please keep supporting me so that I can win my semi-final match,” Patel said after the quarter-finals.
In other events of the day, Indian powerlifter Sakina Khatoon finished a credible fifth in the women’s 50kg category, while compatriot Jaideep failed to achieve a single legal lift in the men’s 65kg event.
2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Khatoon had put up a best effort of 93kg.
China’s Dandan Hu claimed the gold medal with a best effort of 120kg, while Egypt’s Rehab Ahmed, who lifted 120kg, and Great Britain’s Olivia Broome (107kg) took silver and bronze respectively.
The other Indian powerlifter, Jaideep, had a bad day at the office, failing in all his three attempts in the men’s 65kg category.
In archery, Indian compound archer Rakesh Kumar scored a career-best 699 out of a possible 720 to finish third in the ranking round of the Men’s Open category.
In the men’s recurve open category, 2019 Asian Para Championship winner Vivek Chikara finished in the top-10.
World number 11 Kumar, who won the individual gold medal at the first world ranking tournament in Dubai earlier this year, missed out on second place to Iranian Ramzan Biyabani, who scored a total of 699, but had to shoot more arrows. Received more position than Indian. center (X).
The Indian made 53 perfect 10 shots, with 17 close to the centre, while his Iranian rival had 18 X.
Another Indian Shyam Sundar Swamy finished 21st with 682 points. Both the Indians were seeded straight in the second round in a draw of 64.
World number 22 Jyoti Baliyan, who is the only Indian female member to qualify for the Paralympics, finished 15th in the compound open event.
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the day was Patel reaching the semi-finals and securing a medal, the color of which will be decided on Saturday.
Read also: Hearty farewell to the 54 member Indian team for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics
She will face China’s Zhang Miao in the semi-finals. There is no bronze-medal play-off in Tokyo Paralympic table tennis, and both losers in the semi-finals are guaranteed bronze.
“It is certain that we can see a medal from her. Tomorrow morning’s match (semifinal) is a big decider of what color medal she will win,” Paralympic Committee of India chairperson Deepa Malik said in the video footage on her Twitter handle.
In 2017, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board approved the International Table Tennis Federation’s request to remove the third-place play-offs in all medal events and award bronze to both the losing semi-finalists.
Earlier in the day, she defeated Joyce de Oliveira of Brazil 12-10 13-11, 11-6 in the Round of 16 to become the first Indian table tennis player to reach the quarter-finals at the Paralympics.
Athletes in the Class 4 category have proper sitting balance and fully functional arms and hands. Their impairment may be due to a lesion in the lower part of the spinal cord or from cerebral palsy.
They entered the knockout rounds by winning one match and losing the second group game.
Compatriot Sonalben Manubhai Patel had crashed out of the competition on Thursday after losing both her group matches.
Before Patel’s historic feat, 32-year-old Khatoon lifted 90kg in his first attempt at powerlifting. She went for 93kg in her second attempt, but was unsuccessful, and managed to lift that weight in her third attempt.
Khatoon became the only Indian woman Paralympian to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games, when she won a bronze medal in Glasgow in 2014. She is also a silver medalist of the 2018 Para Asian Games.
The 31-year-old tried unsuccessfully to lift 160kg in his first two attempts. He added seven more kilograms to the barbell to make it 167kg in his third and final attempt, but was unable to lift it.
China’s Liu Lei (198kg) and Iran’s Jafri Arangeh Amir (195kg) won gold and silver while Algeria’s Bettyr Hossein (192kg) won bronze.
Powerlifting is open to athletes with a marked physical impairment in their legs or hips, which would prevent them from competing in capable (standing) weightlifting.
There is only one sport category in powerlifting, but athletes compete in different weight categories.
In archery, a team silver medalist at the 2019 Asian Para Championships, Jyoti scored 671 points. He and Kumar have been ranked sixth in the mixed open category.
The pair will start their campaign against Thailand at the mixed mixed pair Open, which has a draw of 16.
In the men’s recurve open category, Chikara finished in the top-10 with 609 points, ahead of 2018 Para Asian Games champion Harvinder Singh, who was seeded 21st.
Chikara made 20 perfect 10’s and 2X’s in his 72 arrows, while Singh dropped out of the top-20 with 600 points.
The Open Event combines the W2 (Wheelchair 2) and ST (Standing) classes. Athletes who have a broken leg and use a wheelchair or have poor balance and shoot while standing or resting on a stool can compete in the open category.
In para archery, the use of assistive equipment or an assistant is permitted depending on the impairment, while a variety of techniques may be used, including pulling the bowstring from the mouth.
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