Indian paddler Bhavina Patel defeated Brazil’s de Oliveira Joyce 12-10, 13-11, 11-6, to advance to the quarter finals of the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday. 

After winning a thriller of a first game 12-10, Bhavina Patel  fought her way back into the second one. She triumphed 13-11 in the second game. The third one, as the score line suggests, was completely dominated by Patel. 

Also read: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games full medal table

Earlier, Bhavina Patel had beaten Great Britain’s Megan Shackleton 3-1 to advance to the Round of 16 in the women’s singles Class 4 table tennis event. 

The 34-year-old Indian dispatched Shackleton, the world world no. 9, 11-7 9-11 17-15 13-11 in a contest that lasted 41 minutes.

Competing in the do-or-die match, the world no. 12 Indian started on a dominant note, clinching the first game in just eight minutes but Shackleton made a strong recovery to take the second.

With the fixture poised at 1-1, the two paddlers fought toe-to-toe in the next two games with the Indian coming on top at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Also read: Tokyo Paralympics: Full list of Indian athletes

“I want to do better in the coming matches. Today, I tried to remain patient and continued to focus on the ball, did not let myself to be distracted by any negative thoughts,” she said after the win.

“I am very happy as I came through a tough match, after a point-to point fight with my opponent. I did not give up.” This was Patel’s first win in the tournament as she was blanked 0-3 by world number one Chinese paddler Zhou Ying in the opening round on Wednesday.

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.

India’s other para table tennis player Sonalben Patel lost against Lee Mi-gyu of South Korea in Group D of women’s singles — Class 3 on Thursday. Mi-gyu defeated Sonalben 3-1 (10-12, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9) and the entire match lasted for just 30 minutes.