Bhavina Patel at the Asian Para Games 2026
Bhavina Patel won bronze in the women’s singles class 4-5 at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on 20 October. She reached the semifinal but lost 3-0 (7-11, 5-11, 7-11) to China’s Zhang Bian. It was India’s first medal of the second day of competition and the country’s 12th of the Games.
It was her second Asian Para Games singles bronze in a row, after Hangzhou, and her third Asian Para Games medal in all. She also led the Indian team into the opening ceremony on 18 October as co-flag bearer with badminton player Pramod Bhagat.
Paralympic silver in Tokyo
At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Patel became the first Indian to win a Paralympic medal in table tennis. On the way to the women’s singles class 4 final she beat Serbia’s Borislava Peric-Rankovic, the defending champion, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in the quarterfinal. In the final on 29 August 2021 she lost in straight games to China’s Zhou Ying and took silver.
A year later she won gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, where para table tennis made its debut. She beat Nigeria’s Ifechukwude Christiana Ikpeoyi 12-10, 11-2, 11-9 in the class 3-5 final. At the Paris 2024 Paralympics she reached the quarterfinals of the class 4 singles and lost 3-1 to Zhou Ying.
Bhavina Patel’s career highlights
- 2018, Asian Para Games, Jakarta: silver, women’s doubles
- 2021, Tokyo Paralympics: silver, women’s singles class 4
- 2021: Arjuna Award
- 2022, Commonwealth Games, Birmingham: gold, women’s singles class 3-5
- 2023, Asian Para Games, Hangzhou: bronze, women’s singles class 4
- 2024, Paris Paralympics: quarterfinal, women’s singles class 4
- 2026, Asian Para Games, Aichi-Nagoya: bronze, women’s singles class 4-5
From Sundhiya to the Paralympic podium
Patel was born on 6 November 1986 in Sundhiya, a village in the Vadnagar area of Mehsana district, Gujarat. She contracted polio at the age of 12 months, which affected the lower part of her body, and she plays from a wheelchair.
In 2004 her father enrolled her at the Blind People’s Association in Ahmedabad, where she did a computer course and was introduced to table tennis to stay fit. Her coach there, Lalan Doshi, saw her potential. She won her first national title in 2007, but a paperwork problem kept her out of the Rio 2016 Paralympics, five years before her breakthrough in Tokyo.
For all of India’s medals at these Games, see India at Asian Para Games 2026. India’s other flag bearer, Pramod Bhagat, has his own profile.
Updated 20 October 2026. Sources: The Tribune, Free Press Journal, The NewsMill, International Paralympic Committee, The Quint, Gulf News, ITTF, The Bridge, Sportskeeda, Republic World and Wikipedia.
