'Want to meet Sachin Tendulkar': Bhavina Patel after historic medal at Tokyo Paralympics

Bhavina Patel after winning the historic medal expressed the desire to meet batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who has been one of the biggest motivator in her career.

Bhavina Patel secured a silver medal at Tokyo Paralympics. (Twitter/sachin_rt)

Indian para table tennis player Bhavina Patel on Sunday gave the country it's first medal in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics 2020. She bagged the silver medal after losing the summit clash 3-0 against world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the women’s singles class 4 final.

Making her maiden appearance at the Paralympics, Bhavina showed grit and lost two matches in her way to the medal, which also is India's first in Paralympics table tennis.

The 34-year-old after winning the medal expressed the desire to meet batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who has been one of the biggest motivator in her career.  

In Pics | Misery to history: Bhavina Patel’s challenging journey to glory

Speaking to NDTV after her historic feat, Bhavina said: "I have always been inspired by Sachin Tendulkar. I want to see him with my own eyes and I want to soak in all the motivational speeches from him that will give me even more confidence."

THE MOMENT Wonderful show of skill and mental resilience throughout her #Paralympics campaign.

Proud Bhavina Patel pic.twitter.com/G0zCGJcQSW — Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) August 29, 2021

Sachin Tendulkar on Bhavina Patel's achievement

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar praised paddler Bhavina Patel for winning a silver in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics and said every medal India win will "inspire millions into the sport". 

What a wonderful news for all of  on #NationalSportsDay. Congratulations on the silver medal @BhavinaPatel6. This is a historic achievement!

Every medal we win will inspire millions into the sport, & sow the seeds for more medals in future. Good start for us at #Paralympics . pic.twitter.com/4f0pz0hKuc — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 29, 2021

TTFI announces Rs 31 lakh cash reward

The Table Tennis Federation of India announced a Rs 31 lakh cash reward for Bhavina. Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and TTFI President Dushyant Chautala announced the cash reward via a social media post.

Bhavina lost the final on Sunday but capped off a memorable campaign with a historic silver. The 34-year-old Patel's impressive run at the Games ended with a fighting 7-11 5-11 6-11 loss to China's Ying Zhou, a two-time gold medallist. 

- with PTI inputs