Bhavinaben Patel scripted history on Friday, becoming the first Indian table tennis player to secure a medal in the Paralympics after entering the semi-finals with a stunning straight-game win over world No. 5 Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in the women's singles Class 4 event, in Tokyo. The 34-year-old won her quarter-final 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in 18 minutes.
The 34-year-old Patel, who had surprised even the Indian camp in this Paralympics with her sensational show, stunned China's Miao Zhang 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 in the semi-final showdown which lasted 34 minutes.
Bhavinaben Patel became only the second Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics after she claimed a historic silver following a 0-3 loss to world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the women's singles table tennis class 4 final at the Tokyo Games on Sunday.
