File image of Bhavani Devi. Twitter @KirenRijiju
Bhavani Devi created history on Monday by clinching India’s medal at the Asian Fencing Championships. Olympian Bhavani won bronze after losing in the women’s sabre semifinal at the continental event in Wuxi, China.
Bhavani lost to Uzbekistan’s Zaynab Dayibekova in a hard-fought semifinals 14-15, but ensured India its maiden medal in the prestigious event.
Bhavani had earlier stunned reigning world champion Misaki Emura of Japan 15-10 in the quarterfinals to script history.
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Misaki had won the women’s sabre gold medal at the 2022 World Fencing Championships held in Cairo.
It was Bhavani’s first win over Misaki as she had lost all her matches against the Japanese in the past.
The 29-year-old Bhavani had received a bye in the round of 64 before beating Dospay Karina of Kazakhstan in the next round.
Bhavani then upset third seed Ozaki Seri 15-11 in the pre-quarterfinals.
“It is a very proud day for Indian fencing. Bhavani has achieved what no one could achieve before. She is the first Indian fencer to win a medal at the prestigious Asian Championships. On behalf of the entire fencing fraternity, I congratulate her and hope she brings back gold,” Fencing Association of India secretary general Rajeev Mehta told PTI.
Bhavani Devi, who became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, exited in the round of 32 at the Tokyo Games.
With PTI inputs
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