Sportz Point Awards 2022 | Bhavina Patel - Para Athlete of the year 202

Missed out on home soil in 2010, missed the Rio Games and then came back like a champion in Tokyo Games in 2021 with a silver; Bhavina Patel was ready for establishing her legacy in the Birmingham Games in 2022. Bhavina's Gold in Para Table Tennis women's singles classes 3-5 makes her the Para Athlete of the year 2022 in our Sportz Point Awards 2022.

After the silver in Tokyo Paralympics, Bhavina was one of the athletes who was expected to do well in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022. In fact, she was aware of it too. But, just like many other para-athletes, she was always under the radar.

Patel started the Birmingham Games really well and dropped only one game in the entire tournament against Australia's Daniela Di Toro in the first match. Post that, she was brutal against her opponents beating them 3-0 in every game.

In the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India, then a rookie Bhavina lost in the semi-finals just by one point and she had a "score to settle" in the Birmingham Games 2022.

"Ek hisab chukta karna hai ki (I have an account to settle). In 2010, I lost the deciding game by one point. I have to correct that record in Birmingham," Bhavina said at an event by SAI before the CWG 2022.

She did settle the score by defeating Nigeria's Ifechukwude Christiana Ikpeoyi in straight sets in the final. The competitive and aggressive nature of Bhavina came out in the final set as she had to come back from a 2-6 deficit against the Nigerian.

Bhavina has already set up an example of what a bulletproof mind with solid skills can achieve. Her story is an inspiration for not only specially-abled people but for everyone.

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"My training centre in Gujarat gets a lot of calls every day from enthusiasts who say that they want to be like Bhavina. They think if Bhavina can do it, we all can. It's a big thing for me to be inspirational for some and I want to inspire more," this quote from her before the gold medal match resonates with her story.

A champion in her own terms, Bhavina Patel is Sportz Point's Para Athlete of the year 2022.