Almost everyone missed Bhavina Patel's correct Twitter handle; it's now verified [details]

Bhavina Patel, who made history for India by becoming the first table tennis player from the country to win a medal in the Paralympic Games here on Sunday, was congratulated by everyone from the Prime Minister to every other Indian. Since Twitter has turned the go-to platform to convey wishes to athletes, many took to the micro-blogging platform to congratulate Bhavina on her big win. Alas, many got her account wrong.

Several users on Twitter tagged Bhavina Patel in their wishes, just not the right account. Even brands like Thumps Up got the wrong account at first, which they quickly rectified in a later post. Noted Olympian Abhinav Bindra also tagged a wrong account while conveying a heartfelt congratulatory letter.

As the confusion arose, Twitter finally verified Bhavina's account to make sure people got her account right. The correct Twitter handle is @Bhavina59068010, whereas @BhavinaPatel6 is used by someone else and been inactive since 2018. Bhavina's official account is currently being managed by her family.

Why so many accounts under Bhavina's name on Twitter?

Bhavina's rise to fame is the reason why so many accounts appear under her name and with the athlete's picture. It is often seen as a practice among miscreants to create accounts in the name of popular celebrities, who do not have a prominent social media presence. By creating accounts under their names, these users try to gain followers. Once a desired number of followers are reached, these accounts are either sold or the person simply changes the name on the account for personal use.

Searching for Bhavina Patel on Twitter search shows some legit accounts of people with the same name, but the first account that appears is of @iBhavinaPatel, which is not the official handle of the Paralympics Silver medalist.

The blue tick or the verified badge against Bhavina's official account is the best way to identify and tag the right account.