Bhavani Devi scripts history, wins India's first ever medal at Asian Fencing C'ships

Wuxi, (China), June 19 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.