Bhavina Patel Table Tennis Paralympics Semifinal Schedule: Date, India Time, Opponent, TV Telecast

Tokyo, Aug 27: Paddler Bhavina Patel on Friday (August 27) scripted history as she became the first Indian table tennis player to secure a medal in the Tokyo Paralympics.

Competing in her maiden Paralympics, Bhavina entered the semi-final to ensure a podium for herself with a stunning straight-game win over world number five Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in the women's singles Class 4 event.

Earlier in the day, she had beaten Joyce de Oliveira of Brazil 12-10 13-11, 11-6 in Round of 16 to become the first Indian table tennis player to reach the quarterfinals in the Paralympics.

Athletes in the Class 4 category have fair sitting balance and fully functional arms and hands. Their impairment may be due to a lower spinal cord lesion or cerebral palsy. She had entered the knockout round after winning one match and losing the other group game.

The 34-year-old, who was diagnosed with polio when she was 12, beat her Serbian opponent 11-5 11-6 11-7 in a quarterfinal match that lasted 18 minutes.

Who is Bhavina's opponent in the semifinals?

She takes on Zhang Miao of China in the semifinals.

When is Bhavina Patel's semi-final match taking place?

Bhavina will be in action at 6:10 am IST on August 28.

Where and how to watch?

EUROSPORT, EUROSPORT HD, and DD Sports will telecast the match in India.

How to stream the match in India?

Discovery plus app and Prasar Bharati Youtube will stream it in India.

What did Bhavina say after winning the quarterfinals?

"I could win my match today due to the support of the people of India. Please keep supporting me so that I can win my semifinal match."

There is no bronze-medal play-off in Tokyo Paralympics table tennis, and both losing semi-finalists are guaranteed a bronze.

Deepak Malik's reaction:

"It is sure that we can see a medal from her. Tomorrow morning's match (semifinal) is a huge decider what colour of the medal she will win," Paralympic Committee of India president Deepa Malik said in video footage on her Twitter handle.