India at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, day one as it happened: Paddlers lose in group-stage openers

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: Here’s how the group stands.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: Better news for Indian contingent in Class 4 as Bhavina Patel knows it is a virtual knockout tomorrow against Megan Shackleton of GBR. Zhou Ying breezes through as topper of the group. The Indian, ranked 12, will have to defeated the British paddler, ranked 9, to progress to the quarterfinal.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D: Well, well. That’s a dampener, it must be said. Korea’s Lee Mi Gyu has defeated Qian Li of China and both of them have one win now. Sonal Patel faces Lee tomorrow and the Indian will have to win and do so convincingly. Makes the equation complicated.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D: CHN-KOR coming up soon, which will determine Sonal Patel’s equation for tomorrow. She came so close to pulling off a huge upset against the Rio 2016 silver medallist earlier today.

Para badminton is one of the two events making a Paraylmpics debut. Here are some snippets about the Indian badminton players in the Tokyo contingent:

Cycling: Britain’s Storey closes in on Paralympics history with 15th gold

Sarah Storey on Wednesday moved a step closer to becoming Britain’s greatest Paralympian, shattering her own world record in the heats before powering to victory in the C5 3,000 metres individual pursuit final at the Izu Velodrome.

The 43-year-old took gold in the cycling event for a fourth consecutive Games, remarkably catching compatriot Crystal Lane-Wright inside eight of the 12 laps in a repeat of the gold-medal race at Rio five years ago. (via AFP)

Swimming: Another gold for Australia at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics!

India to host Olympic and Paralympic Games?

Indian Olympic Association Secretary General Rajeev Mehta confirmed to PTI that they had shown interest in hosting the showpiece event.

“In a meeting of an IOC Commission via video conference before Tokyo Olympics, IOA had expressed interest in hosting Olympics in 2036 and beyond,” Mehta said.

Read More: India keen to host Olympics in 2036 or 2040, says IOC president Thomas Bach

Paralympics, table tennis: Meet Ibrahim Hamatodou, the Egyptian who plays with his mouth

A photo to inspire:

Athletes to watch out for: Beatrice Vio (ITA)

Wheelchair fencer Vio is a sporting icon in her native Italy, where she is a regular guest at Milan Fashion Week and has over a million followers on Instagram.

The 24-year-old, known as “Bebe”, started fencing at the age of five, but had both legs and forearms amputated when she contracted meningitis as an 11-year-old.

She turned her attention to wheelchair fencing – becoming the first competitive fencer with no arms or legs – and claimed a gold and a bronze at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

But she has not been able to compete for two years because the pandemic has shut tournaments down, and she has admitted she is “scared” as she prepares to return to Tokyo.

“I don’t know what is going to happen this time, but I’m just so happy to be here,” she said.

“I miss it so much. I miss the vibration of the competition.” (VIA AFP)

Wheelchair Rugby: The two-time defending champs Australia, featuring the Rising Phoneix star Ryley Batt have been stunned in the group stage opener by newcomers Denmark.

Wheelchair Rugby: The often brutal clash dubbed “murderball”

Australian wheelchair rugby player Ryley Batt is on the court in a faceoff with Denmark as the Aussies bid to become the first team ever to win three straight gold medals. It is an absolute thriller unfolding at the moment with Aussies under pressure from Denmark.

You can watch it here.

11.28 am: The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will see India’s largest-ever contingent participate with 54 athletes competing across nine sports. After a record medal tally in the Olympics campaign earlier this month, India can expect another successful campaign at the Paralympics.

Rio 2016, where 19 athletes represented India in five sports. was the country’s best-ever performance at a Summer Paralympics with a total of four medals.

Can India overhaul their tally of two gold, one silver and one bronze from Rio 2016 Paralympics? Here’s a look at the contenders.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: From Rio 2016 medallists to new hopes, meet India’s top medal contenders

From 1964 to 2020: Paralympics return to Tokyo having evolved from rehabilitation to a spectacle

In the 57 years since Tokyo first hosted the Paralympic Games, the event – and the sports it comprises - have changed beyond recognition. The Tokyo 1964 Games marked the first time the word “paralympic” was used.

At the time, the term described 21 countries represented by 378 athletes, a small minority (75) of whom were female. The events comprised nine sports, but only individuals with spinal cord injuries were eligible to compete.

As the 2020 Paralympics open, those numbers are almost incomparably larger. This year’s teams hail from approximately 160 nations. They comprise approximately 4,400 athletes, with female participants accounting for a record 40.5% of the total delegation. Athletes will compete across 22 sports. And new disciplines continue to be added. Badminton and taekwondo make their Paralympic debuts this year.

Watch: If you missed the Opening Ceremony yesterday, here are the highlights:

Tokyo 2020: Watch ‘Rising Phoenix’ – a feature on the history of Paralympics and inspiring stories

The Netflix feature is streaming on YouTube till the end of the Paraylmpic Games on 5 September. It is a must-watch, as it portrays the ups and downs of the Paralympic movement through the journeys of elite para athletes. It is an inspirational watch, not just for the back-stories for the sporting aspect of it and what it takes to succeed at this level.

Table tennis: Ibrahim Hamadtou, who holds the TT racket with his mouth and serves by flicking the ball up with his foot, was one of the most inspirational stories of Rio 2016. The Egyptian 48-year-old is back in action in Tokyo. He has lost his opening group game, but can still progress.

Here’s a video about him:

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: Bhavina Patel will be in action next tomorrow in her 2nd Class 4 Group A match against Megan Shackleton of GBR. CHN-GBR match is later today, and it could set up a winner-take-all battle for a quarterfinal spot tomorrow between IND-GBR. Same sort of scenario in Class 3 Group D. Sonal Patel will hope CHN defeat KOR later today and that will set up another virtual knockout for quarterfinal in her group tomorrow for the Indian athlete. We will keep you posted on those matches as we go along. As far as India’s action is concerned though, that will be all for today but this stay tuned on our live blog for updates from around the Games and snippets throughout the day.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: China’s Zhou Ying wins 3-0 against Bhavina Patel. The Indian will be back in action tomorrow but before that, will hope for a favour from her Chinese opponent in the Group. If Zhou Ying defeats Megan Shackleton later today, it would be a winner take all IND-GBR battle tomorrow for a spot in the quarterfinal.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: Zhou Ying takes a 2-0 lead as she closes this out 11-9 against Bhavina Patel. It was a tight one, with Bhavina pushing her opponent close at 6-6 and then 9-9.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: A much closer second game, it’s 6-6.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: The first game goes to Zhou Ying of China, 11-3 against Bhavina Patel.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: Almost time for Bhavina Patel to start her campaign with a Class 4 Group A match. She faces a tough task too like Sonal Patel earlier, taking on 2008 & 2012 champion Zhou Ying from China.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D: Here are the match stats from Qian Li vs Sonal Patel that the Chinese paddler won in 5 games.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 4 Group A: Lined up next for India is Bhavina Patel in Class 4 (wheelchair athletes). She faces Zhou Ying, who is the Beijing and London singles champion.

Table tennis: Sonal Patel runs Qian Li (#4 and Rio 2016 singles silver medallist) close but loses a close battle in five games in this Group D match. Faces Korea’s LEE Mi Gyu next tomorrow.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D CHN win: A close battle & India’s Sonal Patel came close to pulling off an upset against world No 4 and Rio 2016 silver medallist Qian Li! The Chinese paddler prevails in 5.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D: It’s 2-2 now and we are in the decider.

A couple of table tennis streams available on the YouTube Livestream so is swimming, cycling and more. A glimpse of Sonal Patel in action in the background as we get a general shot on the livestream. The Indian is one game away from upsetting the Rio 2016 silver medallist and world No 4.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D: Sonal Patel takes a marathon third game! 17-15 to the Indian against China’s Qian Li who is the Rio 2016 silver medallist and the 4th ranked player in this class. Well, well.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D: A super-close third game in this IND-CHN match! It’s 13-13 at the moment.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D: India’s Sonal Patel started off well, but Qian Li comes back strongly to take the second game 11-3. It is 1-1 games all.

Paralympic Games classification: Table Tennis

Sonal Patel: Class 3

Bhavina Patel: Class 4

Classes 1-5 are for wheelchair athletes. Classes 6-10 are for standing athletes. Finally, class 11 is for athletes with intellectual impairments. Within the wheelchair and standing classes, the lower the number, the greater the impact the impairment has on an athlete’s ability to compete.

Table tennis, Women’s Singles - Class 3 Group D: Sonal Patel is India’s first athlete in action and she is taking on China’s Qian Li. The Indian has taken the first game 11-9.

07.39 am: India’s action begins with group stage play in table tennis. First in action is Sonalben Manubhai Patel in women’s singles - class 3.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: Complete list of athletes in India’s record contingent and their events

07.30 am: Hello all and welcome to our live coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Our attention turns to Tokyo once again as Paralympians take centrestage. Delayed an year by the pandemic, the opening ceremony on August 24 got us underway. Now, it is time for the sporting action. India have sent their largest contingent of all time, with more than 50 athletes in contention; nearly thrice as many as the 19 that went to Rio de Janeiro.

The Olympic Games, despite all the challenges, gave some extraordinary moments earlier this month. The Paralympic Games will, in many ways, be even more inspiring because every athlete who has made it to Tokyo has a story to tell... one of persevering, one of not giving up, one of soldiering on despite challenges. In the Netflix feature Rising Phoenix, there is a line that goes: “The Olympics is where heroes are created, the Paralympics is where the heroes come.” And for the next 12 days, we will witness some scintillating sporting action from these heroes across the globe.