Birmingham 2022: Bhavina aims for first Commonwealth medal

Birmingham, Aug 2 (IANS) Tokyo 2020 Paralympic medallist Bhavina Patel will be aiming for her first Commonwealth Games medal when she starts her campaign at the Birmingham 2022 Games on Wednesday.

Bhavina, who created history becoming the first ever Indian paddler to win a medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, is hoping to make up for the missed medal at the Commonwealth Games 12 years ago.

The para table tennis star missed out on a semi-final spot in her first CWG at the Delhi 2010 edition. The 2014 Games in Glasgow did not include para table tennis while the 2018 Games in Gold Coast had the competition for Class 6-10 categories.

This time, Bhavina is better prepared both mentally and physically and is ready for challenge.

"I'm really excited for the Commonwealth Games. A multi-sport event where all athletes across various sports in one place is special. Every medal counts for way more than an individual achievement. This is my second Commonwealth Games appearance. I missed out closely on a medal the last time so my aim is to win one this time around. I'm really excited and I look forward to my matches," Bhavina, who competes in the Class 4 category, told Paralympic Committee of India.

She is also competing at the Commonwealth Games buoyed by her gold medal winning performances in Egypt and Jordan, besides national championships. "I am happy to get these wins but I want to play more tournaments to improve my world rankings," said the 35-yer-old paddler who is ranked eighth currently.

At Birmingham 2022, Bhavina is joined by Paralympians Shakina Khatun, a former CWG medallist in Para Powerlifting, and para swimmers Niranjan Mukundan and Suyash Jadhav in the 18-member Indian Para team competing in 4 disciplines - Para Athletics, Para Swimming, Para Powerlifting and Para Table Tennis.