Bhavina Patel Cruises Past Jordan’s Faten Eleimat to Top Group A at Asian Para Games

Paralympics silver medallist Bhavina Patel continued her impressive winning run at the Asian Para Games, producing a commanding straight-game victory over Jordan’s Faten Eleimat to finish on top of Group A in the women’s para table tennis competition on Saturday.

Bhavina made light work of Eleimat, winning 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 in just 17 minutes in the women’s singles Class 4-5 Group A match. Her clinical performance underlined her consistency and control as she strengthened her campaign at the continental event.

The Indian paddler’s victory ensured she topped Group A, keeping her momentum intact as the competition progressed.

Elsewhere, Sonalben Patel opened her campaign in the women’s Class 3 event with a convincing 3-0 win over Japan’s Yuka Ikeyama but could not maintain the momentum, losing 0-3 to South Korea’s Migyu Lee in her next match.

India also suffered setbacks in other events. Shubham Wadhwa went down 0-3 to Saudi Arabia’s Ibrahim AlHassan in the men’s singles Class 3 competition.

In the women’s singles Class 1 event, Ekta Bhyan lost 0-3 to Saudi Arabia’s Maryam Almyrisl, while Jehan Madan suffered a 1-3 defeat against Saudi Arabia’s Rakan Alsalmi.

Dattaprasad Chougule also endured a difficult outing, losing 0-3 to Japan’s Koyo Iwabuchi in a men’s singles Class 9 group match.

Para table tennis features different sport classes based on athletes’ physical impairments and functional abilities. Classes 1 to 5 are for wheelchair athletes, with Class 1 representing the most significant limitations in sitting balance and playing-arm function. Class 9 is for standing athletes with eligible physical impairments.

While several Indian paddlers faced challenging outings, Bhavina’s emphatic win provided a positive result for the Indian contingent as the Asian Para Games competition continued in Nagoya.