Bhavina Patel Makes Winning Start at Asian Para Games

Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Bhavina Patel opened her Asian Para Games campaign with a win in women’s singles para table tennis. She defeated Kuwait’s Ahad Alrasheedi 3–0 in a Class 4–5 Group A match, with game scores of 11–6, 11–3 and 11–6.

Match Format and Result

Patel won the match in straight games, taking each game by at least five points. Para table tennis matches are played under table tennis rules, with classification based on athletes’ functional abilities. Games are generally played to 11 points, and a player must win by at least two points.

Para Table Tennis Classification

Classes 1–5 in para table tennis are for wheelchair athletes, while Classes 6–10 are for standing athletes. Class 11 is for athletes with intellectual impairments. Within the wheelchair classes, Class 5 represents a higher level of functional ability than Class 4. Classification assesses how an impairment affects an athlete’s ability to perform in the sport.

Bhavina Patel and Indian Para Table Tennis

Patel won a silver medal in women’s singles Class 4 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, held in 2021. She became the first Indian table tennis player to win a Paralympic medal. Baby Sahana Ravi, Shubham Wadhwa and Jehan Madan also recorded wins in their respective Asian Para Games group matches.

Important Facts for Exams

:

• The Asian Para Games are a multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities from Asian National Paralympic Committees.
• Tokyo hosted the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
• Table tennis is governed internationally by the International Table Tennis Federation.
• In table tennis, a game is normally won by the first player to reach 11 points with a margin of at least two points.

Patel’s Tokyo Paralympic silver came in the women’s singles Class 4 event, a wheelchair classification in para table tennis.