Asian Para Games 2026: Bhavina Patel wins bronze in desk tennis
NEW DELHI: Bhavina Patel added one other medal to her spectacular profession by successful bronze within the ladies’s singles Class 4-5 desk tennis occasion on the Asian Para Games 2026.The Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist misplaced 7-11, 5-11, 7-11 to China’s Zhang Bian within the semi-finals. The defeat ended her singles marketing campaign, however Bhavina secured a bronze medal for India.Bhavina was earlier named India’s flag bearer for the Asian Para Games.
Bhavina Patel’s journey
Bhavina has been one in every of India’s main para desk tennis gamers. She made historical past on the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020 by successful silver within the ladies’s singles occasion. It was India’s first-ever Paralympic medal in desk tennis.Diagnosed with polio at a younger age, Bhavina didn’t permit the situation to cease her from pursuing her sporting desires. She started coaching critically and gained her first gold medal on the Para Table Tennis Nationals in Bengaluru in 2009.She went on to determine herself on the cross-border stage, successful silver in doubles on the 2018 Asian Para Games and bronze in singles on the 2022 version.Bhavina continued her success on the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the place she gained gold in ladies’s singles. She was chosen for the 2016 Rio Paralympics however couldn’t compete because of technical causes. However, she remained centered on her objective and reached the most important second of her profession on the Tokyo Paralympics.Bhavina has gained greater than 70 medals in ITTF rating tournaments throughout her profession.In the 2025-26 season, she gained 25 medals throughout singles and doubles occasions. Her tally included 17 singles medals — 12 gold, two silver and three bronze — together with eight doubles medals, together with three silver and 5 bronze.Apart from desk tennis, Bhavina additionally works with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
