Bhavani Devi Scripts History, Defeats World Champion, Secures Bronze 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 at the Asian Fencing Championships.

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

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.


Bhavani Devi is from Chennai and she had earlier made history as the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics. She began her fencing journey in 2004, initially competing in school-level matches before stepping into international competition in Turkey.

Her career saw a significant boost in 2010 when she secured a bronze medal in the Asian Championship. In 2014, following another successful stint at the Asian Championship, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, provided Bhavani with financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh for advanced training in the U.S.

She is a recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award from the Sports Ministry of India. Now, her focus is on rigorous training for the upcoming 2024 Olympics set to occur in July. - IANS with inputs from TWL Bureau