Athletics, men’s F57 javelin throw: A ridiculous finish to event that Ranjeet Bhati was a part of earlier.

Triathlon - Men’s PTS4: Hideki Uda of Japan celebrates winning the silver medal. What a powerful image. (Reuters)

4.25 pm: That will be all for India’s events today.. we will have the schedule for tomorrow shortly.

In the meantime...

Tokyo Paralympics, table tennis: How Bhavina Patel kept calm and carried on with her dream run

Rule 36: Seated Throwing Technique and validity of attempts

1. In Seated Throw Events, all athletes (Sport Classes F31-34, F51-57) shall throw implements from a Throwing Frame in a seated position. The seated position is defined as follows: 

a) The athlete must sit so that both legs are in contact with the seat surface from the back of the knee to the back of the buttock (Ischial tuberosity). For athletes with lower limb above and through knee amputation, the residual length of the leg(s) must be in contact with the seat surface till the back of the buttock (Ischial tuberosity). b) This sitting position must be maintained throughout the throwing action until the implement has landed. Strapping across the upper thighs and or pelvis is encouraged.

2. An athlete shall commence his trial from a stationary seated position. 3. It shall be a failure if an athlete moves from the seated position from the time the athlete takes the implement into the starting position of the trial until the implement has landed.

— via Paralympic.org

Athletics, men’s F57 javelin throw: Oh dear. That did not go to plan for Ranjeet Bhati. He has been given a X for all six of his attempts. Many discussions with the officials, but no throw was deemed valid.

Athletics, men’s F57 javelin throw: Bhati starts with a three foul attempts. The judges seem to indicate it is about the hip position. The javelin has landed around the 35m meter mark but no attempt registered yet.

Athletics, men’s F57 javelin throw: Liberia’s athlete (only F56 athlete in the F57 event) finishes with a PB of 13.54. Ranjeet Bhati up next. Can he breach 40 or more? He is set to go now. All 6 attempts together in this event.

Athletics, men’s F57 javelin throw: Ranjeet Bhati has a PB listed at 33.81 for this event, quite less compared the 49.29 of Nobre Lins which is the world record (the Brazilian is also in action here). PCI chief Deepa Malik has said he has been training well, so will be interesting to see how much he can better it by.

Athletics, men’s F57 javelin throw: It is a seated javelin throw event...

For field events, the group of wheelchair athletes compete in more differentiated classes. 

Athletes in sport classes F51-53 have limited shoulder, arm and hand function to different degrees and usually no trunk or leg function. This profile is, for example, seen with athletes with spinal cord injury resulting in tetraplegia. Athletes in the class F54 have normal function in their shoulders, arms and hands, but generally no trunk or leg function. Throughout the sport classes F55-57 the trunk and leg function increases, which is an advantage in throwing events. An athlete in the F55 class has partial to full abdominal muscle activity, but no leg function. Athletes in class F56 can partially bend their hips and legs in addition to having trunk function, while athletes in class F57 demonstrate the additional ability to extend and abduct the hips. Athletes in class F57 may be able to stand and walk with or without an assistive device, but have to at the very least comply with the defined minimum impairment criteria. 

— via Tokyo2020

A quick piece on Bhavina Patel’s superb semifinal win in Tokyo: Yes, Zhang Miao had defeated Bhavina Patel eleven times before Saturday, 28 August 2021. But, what do we say to a 12th defeat? Not today.

Tokyo Paralympics, table tennis: How Bhavina Patel kept calm and carried on with her dream run

FOR THE RECORD: “No-one beats me 12 times in a row” is not what Bhavina Patel said. It’s the commentator making a reference to a famous tennis quote: “Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row”

PICTURE PERFECT: That is silver medalist Japan’s Hideki Uda (L) with gold medalist France’s Alexis Hanquinquant after competing in the men’s triathlon.

US wheelchair racing legend Tatyana McFadden won her 18th Paralympic medal on Saturday, four years after blood clots almost ended her career.

McFadden took bronze in the women’s T54 5,000m to extend her streak of finishing on the podium in every Paralympic race she has entered since 2008. But she said just competing in Tokyo was a victory in itself, having been diagnosed with a blood-clotting disorder in 2017 that took almost two years to recover from.

Replay of Bhavina Patel’s semifinal win:

Play

Bhavina Patel: 

“When I came here, I just thought that I would give my 100 per cent without thinking of anything. If you give 100 per cent, the medal will come, that was what I thought. If I continue with this confidence with the blessings of the people of my country, I think I will win gold tomorrow. I am ready for the final and I have to give 100 per cent in the final also.”

— via SAI / PTI

Archery, men’s compound open round of 16: Rakesh Kumar will next take on Slovakia’s Marian Marecak, 14th seed and world No 20. That match and the subsequent rounds of 31 August.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32, IND vs HKG: RAKESH KUMAR WINS! The third seed stays in the lead from start to finish, dropping NINE 10s out of the 15 arrows, to win 144-131 and enter the round of 16.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32, IND vs HKG: After three ends of 29, a 28 from Rakesh Kumar and he continues to be in the lead... 115-103 with three arrows to go.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32, IND vs HKG: Rakesh Kumar with two more 10s in the 3rd END and he has a 87-79 lead. Looking good for a win.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32, IND vs HKG: Make that a 87-79 lead at the end of 4 sets of arrows. Two more 10s there for Rakesh. On fire.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32, IND vs HKG: Rakesh Kumar continues to find the 10s and is placed well after two ends (six arrows) with a 6-point lead at 58-52.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32, IND vs HKG: Rakesh Kumar starts with a 10, 10, 9 and has a lead of 29-27 at the end of the first three arrows. Reminder, there is no set system in compound.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32, IND vs HKG: Not long away from this match. Rakesh Kumar, world No 11 and third seed here, takes on Chuen Ka Ngai, world No 34 and 30th seed here.

What a time for Bhavina Patel to pull off her first win against the former world No 1

MIAO ZHANG vs BHAVINA PATEL H2H BEFORE TOKYO 2020 (Game points in numbers):

2018 Asian Para Games, Singles class 4: 3,3,9 

2017 PTT Thailand Open, Singles class 4: 4,-16,5,9 

2017 Asian Championships, Singles class 4: 4,-9,10,7 

2015 China Open, Singles class 4: 8,4,1 

2015 Asian Championships, Singles class 4: 8,11,9 

2015 8th Al Watani Championships, Singles class 4-5: -6,6,4,-4,6 

2015 3rd Bayreuth Open, Singles class 4: 4,7,-9,-9,5 

2015 3rd Bayreuth Open, Teams class 4: 10,2,6 

2014 Asian Para Games, Singles class 4: 6,6,9 

2013 Asian Championships, Singles class 4: 6,9,2 

2013 Asian Championships, Teams class 4-5: 8,7,3

For those wondering... 

SPORT CLASS 4, Table tennis: In TT, paddlers in classes 1-5 compete in a wheelchair. Class 4 players have some sitting balance and fully functional arms and hands. They can move to the front to meet their opponent’s serve.

Bhavina Patel (ranked 12) so far: 

Defeated world No 9 Megan Shackleton in a must-win Group A match. 

 Defeated world No 8 Joyce de Oliveira in R16. 

 Defeated world No 2 & Rio 2016 gold medallist in QF. 

 Defeated world No 3 & Rio 2016 silver medallist in SF. 

 Takes on world No 1 in final.

TABLE TENNIS: In the final, Bhavina Patel will take on world No 1 Zhou Ying, for a rematch of the Group A opener. The CHN paddler won that 3-0 but Patel has built up brilliant momentum. Sunday, 7.15 am.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32: A THRILLER. Shyam Sundar made a superb start to the final END when trailing but shoots an 8 in the second arrow and then Matt Stutzman finishes it off in style to clinch this match. USA win this. What a close one! The Armless Archer triumphs and moves forward.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32: It is quite the battle between Shyam Sundar and Matt Stutzman in the round of 32. Going down to the wire.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 3-2 CHN: TAKE A BOW BHAVINA PATEL! The first time she has defeated Miao Zhang after 11 defeats previously. WHAT A TIME TO DO IT.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 3-2 CHN: The UPSET IS COMPLETE! The timeout does the trick and she is delighted. WOW!!! BHAVINA PATEL TAKE A BOW!

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32:

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-2 CHN: From 5-9 it is, 8-9 for Zhang and now India call the timeout. SO CLOSE THE INDIAN! But the momentum to China. Useful timeout to have. More meditation for Bhavina.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-2 CHN: Zhang does not have a timeout but she is taking time between points to slw the game down. She makes it 4-8. And then Patel makes it 9-5. Two points away. Zhang makes it 6-9! And a superb point from Zhang to make it 7-9 and she has the serve back.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32:

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-2 CHN: Three of the four points for Zhang and does Patel need a timeout? NOPE SHE DOESN’T. Makes it 8-3. Such composure.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-2 CHN: ANother brilliant rally (16 strokes) and it is a superb backhand winner from Bhavina to make it 5-0! Change of sides.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-2 CHN: An early 3-0 lead for Bhavina! She also has the timeout on her side. But she might not want it at the moment.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-2 CHN: At 9-9, the Indian was 2 points away from a win! Some terrific rallies in this 4th game. Goosebumps stuff. Zhang makes it 2-2 as she takes this 11-9. DECIDER!

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-1 CHN: ANOTHER SUPERB RALLY! This 4th game has been quite the battle. Both players know the importance of this, we got to 8-8. The commentators are all praise for the Indian’s tactical nous but the timeout has just changed the momentum for Zhang. 9-9 now. She is rallying.

Archery, men’s compound open round of 32: This is about to start to soon...

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-1 CHN: Terrific rally after the timeout and it seems the tactical tweak is helping the Chinese for now. It’s 4-4 still.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-1 CHN: Zhang Miao needs a timeout as Patel goes into a 3-2 lead in the 4th game. Patel comes back to the table in no time. She wants to keep this going.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 2-1 CHN: Make it 10-2 for India. And she is in a bubble that she doesn’t want to come out of says the commentator. Zhang saves two game points, the Indian asks to calm herself down. And the third game point is converted. 11-4 for INDIA!

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 1-1 CHN: It is 9-2 for Patel and this time a forehand angle to sharp!

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 1-1 CHN: A lovely rally puts an end to the run Patel was on... six straight from the previous game. And it is another terrific angled winner to go up 6-1. Zhang does the same to make it 2-6.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 1-1 CHN: Good defence early on from Patel and she has a 3-0 lead. Make that 4-0! That’s a super start.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 0-1 CHN: Four game points Bhavina! A terrific backhand to set it up.. and she converts the second one with another winner. 11-7!

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 0-1 CHN: From 6-6, a body shot gives Patel a 7-6 lead and then she makes it 8-6. And then 9-6. Terrific from Bhavina.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 0-1 CHN: 4-4 and then 5-5. Similar pattern to the first game so far...

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND 0-1 CHN: Another tight start to the 2nd game, it’s 2-2 and 3-3. Important for Bhavina to win this game if she has hopes of pulling of another upset.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND vs CHN: It was technically 6 straight points from 4-5 for Zhang. And we get the H2H conformation on air. I did indeed read it right, it is 11-0 for Zhang.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND vs CHN: 5 straight points for Zhang from 5-5 and she has 5 game points. Bhavina saves 2 of those but the opening game goes to CHN 11-7.

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal, IND vs CHN: It’s 3-3 and 4-4... all very close at the start. And Bhavina briefly in the lead at 5-4 before it becomes 5-5.

If I am reading the H2H right, Bhavina Patel has never defeated Miao Zhang on the IPTTC circuit before in their previous meetings. Today’s the day?

Table Tennis, women’s singles Class 4 semifinal: Players are next to the table and we are all set for this IND-CHN match. 34-year-old Bhavina vs 30-year-old Zhang, who is the world No 3 and looking to reach the final again.

06.05 am: Hello all, and welcome to our daily live coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games... it’s the weekend and it promises to be interesting for Indian fans.

On Friday, history was made by Bhavina Patel. Colour of the medal yet to be confirmed, she is now the 2nd Indian woman after Deepa Malik to earn a place on the podium at the Paralympic Games as she stunned the defending champion in women’s singles Class 4 table tennis to reach the semifinal. And with no bronze medal playoffs in TT this time around, that guarantees her a medal. She has already defeated three higher-ranked players in a row, now she has a chance to make it four. It won’t be easy of course, but Paralympians don’t do easy, do they? She is up against world No 3 Miao Zhang from China, who is the silver medallist from Rio 2016.