Paralympics Indian paddlers Bhavinaben and Sonalben lose opening round fixtures

pnbspIndian paddlers Bhavinaben Patel and Sonalben Manubhai Patel began their campaigns with opening round defeats in their respective events at the Tokyo Paralympics here on WednesdayppCompeting in the womens Class 3 category Sonalben was ahead after the first three games but lost momentum to lose 11-9 3-11 17-15 7-11 4-11 against Li Quan of China world number four and the Rio Paralympics silver medallist in a tightly-contested matchppOn the other hand Bhavinaben who was also up against world number one Chinese paddler Zhou Ying lost went down tamely 3-11 9-11 2-11 in the womens singles Class 4 group A fixtureppPlayers in the Class 3 category have no trunk control yet their arms are minimally affected by the impairment while in class 4 competitors have fair sitting balance and fully functional arms and handsppTheir impairment may be due to a lower spinal-cord lesion or cerebral palsyp