India's Bhavina Patel won Para Table Tennis gold in the women's singles class 3-5 at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Birmingham on Saturday.
The 35-year-old from Gujarat, who won silver at the Tokyo Paralympics last year, defeated Nigeria's Ifechukwude Christiana Ikpeoyi in straight games (12-10, 11-2, 11-9) in the final. It capped a memorable campaign for Bhavina, who dropped just one game in five matches. That 'blip' happened in her opening match, against Daniel di Toro of Australia. She won that contest 3-1.
A former world No 2, Bhavina is a two-time Asian Para Table Tennis Championships medallist, having won silver in the women's singles class 4 in Beijing and a bronze in 2017. Bhavina then beat Nigeria's Ikpeoyi and Akanisi Latu of Fiji in straight games before moving to the semis to face Sue Bailey. She beat Bailey in another one-sided encounter, taking the semi-final 11-6,11-6,11-6. before winning the final 3-0.
"I am happy with my performance. The way I trained for this really showed in my game. I am preparing for the 2024 Olympics. It is my next target. I dedicate this medal to my family, coaches, friends and all Indians. I am excited to meet PM Modi," Bhavina said after her win.
Another Indian in the fray, Sonalben Manubhai Patel, claimed bronze in women's singles class 3-5. The 34-year-old had lost her semi-final to Ikpeoyi 11-8,6-11, 4-11, 7-11 but defeated Sue Bailey 11-5, 11-2, 11-3 in the third-place playoff. Sonalben had beaten Sue Bailey in her opening round as well.
{{/usCountry}}Another Indian in the fray, Sonalben Manubhai Patel, claimed bronze in women's singles class 3-5. The 34-year-old had lost her semi-final to Ikpeoyi 11-8,6-11, 4-11, 7-11 but defeated Sue Bailey 11-5, 11-2, 11-3 in the third-place playoff. Sonalben had beaten Sue Bailey in her opening round as well.
{{/usCountry}}She then prevailed over Amanda Jane Tscharke of Australia and Chinenye Obiora of Nigeria. The Indian lost to Nigeria's Ikpeoyi in the semis.
The Indian duo's heroics took the country's para medal count at the CWG to three as powerlifter Sudhir scripted a Games record to win the gold medal in the men's heavyweight category on Friday.
However, Raj Aravindan Alagar lost to Nigeria's Isau Ogunkunle 0-3 in the men's singles table tennis class 3-5 bronze medal match.