Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Bhavina Patel for her sensational performance at the Tokyo Paralympics and conveyed the country's support for her success tomorrow.
Bhavina scripted history on Saturday when she beat world No. 3 Zhang Miao of China 3-2 in the semi-finals to make the gold medal match in her debut Para Games.
'Congratulations Bhavina Patel! You played excellently. The entire nation is praying for your success and will be cheering for you tomorrow. Give your best and play without any pressure. Your accomplishments inspire the entire nation. #Paralympics,' PM Modi tweeted.
The 34-year-old Patel will now face world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the final on Sunday.
Earlier on Friday, Bhavina became the first Indian table tennis player to secure a Paralympic medal after reaching semifinal.
Bhavina to go for Gold
The Ahmedabad-based ESIC paddler will take on in tomorrow's final world No. 1 Ying Zhou from China, a two-time gold medal winner,
All India Table Tennis Federation said in a statement," Competing in her maiden Games in the Class 4 category, the Indian found herself caught on the foot, losing the opening game.
But she came back strongly in the second only to lose the next to Zhang, who showed her supremacy and class, taking the issue to the decider.
"But the determined Indian began aggressively with clean returns and effective backhands to lead comfortably before letting the Chinese some leeway. But the Chinese failed to cash in on
the opportunities. The Indian, however, grabbed her chances when Zhang committed unforced errors at crucial junctures, making an easy passage into the final."
“I am happy my struggles have paid off so far,” AITTF's Secretary General Arun Kumar Banerjee quoing the indian paddler as saying."But I would go all out in the final tomorrow to change the colour of my medal,” she added,
with prayers on her lips.
It will be a tough gold medal match tomorrow. Zhou has an enviable record of clinching back-to-back gold medals from the Beijing (2008) and London (2012) Games. But Bhavina
can take heart from the fact that she beat reigning champion Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia on Friday. The World No. 2 Serbian defeated Zhou in the Rio final, and the Indian
can follow suit.
