Bhavani Devi scripts history, wins India’s first ever medal at Asian Fencing Championships

India's top fencer Bhavani Devi on Monday scripted history as she secured a bronze medal in the women's sabre event

Wuxi: India’s top fencer Bhavani Devi on Monday scripted history as she secured a bronze medal in the women’s sabre event at the Asian Fencing Championships.

This remarkable achievement marked India’s first medal at the continental meet.

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Bhavani defeated the reigning world champion and world No.1 Misaki Emura of Japan 15-10 in the quarterfinals of the women’s sabre event. It was also the Indian’s first win over the Japanese in four meetings.

The 29-year-old settled for bronze after suffering a close 15-14 loss to Uzbekistan’s world No.79 Zaynab Dayibekova in the semifinals.

Earlier, the Indian fencer received a first-round bye. She got the better of world No.95 Dospay Karina of Kazakhstan 15-13 in the next round and stunned world No.40 and third seed Seri Ozaki of Japan 15-11 in the pre-quarterfinals.

The 29-year-old became the first Indian fencer to represent India at the Olympic Games when she competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.