The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will start on August 24 and India will be represented by a 54-member strong contingent. While 24 para-athletes will be participating in athletics, some will be participating in other disciplines. The duo of Bhavina Patel and Sonalbn Patel from Gujarat will lead India’s charge in table tennis.

While Bhavina will participate in the wheelchair class 4 category, Sonalben will compete in the wheelchair class 3 category in women’s singles. They will also pair up for the women’s doubles event.

Bhavina and Sonalben’s table tennis qualification rounds start on August 25 and continue for the next two days. The semi-final and the final are slated for August 28 and 29.

In table tennis, Bhavina is ranked world no 8 while Sonalben is ranked 19th. The duo, who both are the medallist at the Asian Games, has been trained under Coach Lalan Doshi at the Blind People’s Association in Ahmedabad.

In para taekwondo, India will be represented by 21-year-old Aruna Tanwar. The Haryana-based athlete, who will participate in the women’s under 49kg K44 category, will be in action on September 2 in the round of 16.

Currently ranked 30th in the K44 category, Aruna is a silver medalist at the Asian Para Taekwondo Championship in Vietnam in 2018. Apart from this, she is also a bronze medallist at the World Para Taekwondo Championship in Turkey in 2019.

In para powerlifting, India will be represented by Jai Deep and Sakina Khatun.

While Sakina, born in West Bengal, has been training at the SAI National Center of Excellence in Bangalore, Haryana-based Jai Deep has been training at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Rohtak.

Sakina, who will participate in the women’s up to 50kg category, had become the only Indian woman Paralympian to ever win a Commonwealth Games medal when she claimed a bronze in 2014 in Glasgow. She is also a 2018 Para Asian Games silver medallist.

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Sakina, who contracted polio as a kid, started powerlifting training in 2010 with financial support from Dilip Majumdar and her current coach, Farman Basha.

Jai Deep, who is participating at the men’s up to 65kg category, is an assistant coach in the Sports Authority of India.

The duo will be in action in Tokyo in their respective final rounds on August 27.