India at Paralympics 2021: Paddler Sonalben Patel fails to qualify for knockout round

Indian Para table tennis player Sonalben Patel went down fighting against South Korea's Lee Mi-gyu 1-3 in her second Tokyo Paralympic Group D match on Thursday. The result meant she would not qualify for the Round of 16, eliminating her from the event.

It was a neck-and-neck competition in the first set. Sonal came from being 8-10 down at one stage to winning the first game 12-10 after bagging consecutive points.

The second game began similar to the first one. It was a very closely fought battle at the outset. However, Lee soon took the lead and leveled the score with a 11-5 win.

Lee took it up a notch in the third game, giving the 33-year-old no scope for a revival and trouncing her 11-3 to take a 2-1 lead.

Sonalben started decently in the fourth set and kept her South Korean opponent on her toes, but Lee was in no mood to squander her advantage. With some glaring shots, a flurry of points came Lee's way as she surged ahead 2-6.

At this point, the Indian mounted a valiant comeback to win five consecutive points but to no avail. Lee won the game 11-9 and sealed up the match.

Sonalben had earlier suffered a 2-3 defeat against China's Li Qian in her opening Group D match in women's singles class 3 on Wednesday. The world No. 4 won a five-game stunner (9-11, 11-3, 15-17, 11-7, 11-4) in 36 minutes.

Sonalben has represented India in nearly 20 tournaments and bagged 12 medals in her career so far.

Sonalben Patel lost her second match at the #Paralympics against 6th Ranked Lee Mi-Gyu of #KOR in the C3 Group D Match of #ParaTableTennisEven after putting up a brilliant fight in both the games, unfortunately, her journey at the #Tokyo2020 comes to an end#Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/eT5x3S3Zu3

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) August 26, 2021

Sonalben's compatriot Bhavina pulls off a stunner

Earlier on Thursday, Bhavina Patel clinched a thrilling victory against Megan Shackleton of Great Britain in her women’s singles class 4 Group A match. Bhavina won 3-1 (11-7, 9-11, 17-15, 13-11) against the Briton.

Bhavina Patel beats Megan Shackleton of #GBR in the Class 4 Group match of #ParaTableTennis at the Paralympics 👏#Tokyo2020 #Paralympics #Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/QFEK4tmRh1

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) August 26, 2021

Bhavina and Zhou Ying of China made it to the next round from Group A. Notably, the Indian lost to the Chinese paddler in her opening match of the Paralympics on Wednesday. She went down to Ying in straight sets 3-11, 9-11, 2-11 in the first round Group A match.

When will Bhavina Patel play next?

Bhavina Patel will next take on Joyce de Oliveira of Brazil in the women's singles class 4 Round of 16 match on August 27, at 7:30 AM IST.