Tokyo Paralympics: In-form paddler Bhavina Patel gears up for gold medal match

Bhavina continued her dream run in the ongoing Tokyo Games on Saturday as she stormed into the finals after defeating Zhang Miao of China 3-2 in her Class 4 match.

The Indian paddler said she proved that nothing is impossible as she defeated a Chinese player in the semi-final clash of the mega event. "This is a big achievement as everyone says beating China is very difficult but I have proved today nothing is impossible if you want it from all your heart," Bhavina told ANI.

"Tomorrow is my final match and I am preparing for the same. I want everyone to keep praying for me so that I can perform well," she added. Bhavina created history by becoming the first Indian to enter the finals of the Paralympic Games table tennis competition.

After winning the clash, Bhavina said she never thought of reaching the finals of the Tokyo Paralympics and was only focused on giving her 100 per cent in every match. "If I keep on performing like this, I will definitely win the gold medal. I never thought of reaching the finals and only concentrated on giving my 100 per cent and I did that only," said Bhavina in a Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) video.

"And when you give your 100 per cent you can win a medal. I am mentally ready for the finals and I just want to give my 100 per cent," she added. While Bhavina hogged the limelight with her stellar show, archer Rakesh Kumar defeated Hong Kong's Ngai Ka Chuen 144-131 to win his 1/16 elimination match of men's individual compound event. With this win, Rakesh has now advanced to the next round in the Paralympics. However, para archer Shyam Sundar went down 139-142 against Matt Stutzman of the USA in the individual compound open 1/16 elimination round.