Indian para-athletes in table tennis, taekwondo gunning for glory

Indian para-athletes Bhavina Patel, Sonalben Patel and Aruna Tanwar are looking at putting their best foot forward at the upcoming Tokyo Paralympic Games 2021.

While para-athletes Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel will compete in the table tennis women’s singles wheelchair Class 4 category and in the women’s singles wheelchair Class 3 category respectively, Aruna Tanwar is India's only para-athlete in taekwondo.

Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel, both from Gujarat, start their qualification rounds in Tokyo on the opening day on August 25. They are pairing up for the women’s doubles event as well.

Related: Full list of Indian athletes taking part in Tokyo Paralympics 2021

The qualifying rounds are scheduled for August 25 to August 27, while the semi-finals and the final are scheduled for August 28 and 29 respectively.

The duo have been training under coach Lalan Doshi at the Blind People’s Association in Ahmedabad.

While Bhavina Patel is currently ranked eighth in the world in her category, Sonalben Patel is ranked 19th. Both have been recipients of the Sardar Patel Award and the Eklavya Awards and have been medallists at the Asian Games.

Paddlers, a part of the TOPS scheme

Both para-athletes Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel are part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) core group and have received key interventions from the Government of India in terms of participation in international competitions.

Bhavina Patel has received financial assistance towards procuring table tennis tables, a robot and a table tennis wheelchair for personal training, assistance towards physiotherapy, dietician, psychologist and coaching fees to prepare for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympic Games.

India's taekwondo para-athlete Aruna Tanwar. (PC: SAI)

Takewondo para-athlete gunning for glory

Aruna Tanwar is the sole Indian para-athlete in Taekwondo. The 21-year-old will participate in the women’s under 49kg K44 category. She will be in action on September 2 from the Round-of-16 rounds.

Aruna Tanwar is currently ranked 30th in the K44 category, is a silver medalist at the Asian Para Taekwondo Championship in Vietnam in 2018 as well as a bronze medalist at the World Para Taekwondo Championship in Turkey in 2019.

The para-athlete is also part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and has received financial assistance in procurement of sports-specific equipment.