Tokyo [Japan]: India’s para table tennis player Sonalben Patel lost against Lee Mi-gyu of South Korea in Group D of women’s singles — Class 3 in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics on Thursday. Mi-gyu defeated Sonalben 3-1 (10-12, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9) and the entire match lasted for just 30 minutes. Sonalben had won the opening game in a closely fought affair but she was not able to carry forward the momentum, and she ended up losing the next three games. She had on Wednesday lost her opening Group D game against China’s Qian Li by 3-2. World number 4 Qian Li defeated Sonalben in five sets by 3-2 (9-11, 11-3, 15-17, 11-7, 11-4) in 36 minutes. Earlier on Thursday, India’s para table tennis player Bhavina Patel defeated Megan Shackleton of Great Britain 3-1 in a thrilling match of Group A in women’s singles — Class 4. Bhavina saved the game point in the fourth game and then took the lead to clinch the match. With this 3-1 win (11-7, 9-11, 17-15, 13-11) Bhavina qualified for the next round.
