C. A. Bhavani Devi, on Monday, scripted history by defeating reigning World Champion Misaki Emura in the Asian Fencing Championship quarterfinal and securing India its first-ever medal at the event.
The Indian fencer stunned the world number one 15-10 to enter the women’s sabre semifinal. Prior to this match, Bhavani had lost all her three matches against Misaki.
Bhavani Devi said her dream was to beat a few top-ranked players in the world, and she was very happy that she could pull off a win over Misaki. “It was a great moment becoming the first Indian to win a medal for the country in the Asians. Beating Misaki was huge because she is a very good and consistent fencer. I had lost in the round of 16 to Misak in the previous Asians. I had a plan and it worked,” Bhavani told Sportstar.
Bhavani, however, lost to Uzbekistan’s Zaynab Dayibekova in the semifinals, 15-14, securing a bronze medal. At 14-14, the referee gave a red card to Bhavani for “early start”. Both had received yellow cards earlier in the match. In fact, Bhavani wanted a video referral, but the referee rejected it, arguing that a referral is available only if there is a “blade contact.”
Earlier, the 29-year-old received a bye in round 64 before beating Dospay Karina of Kazakhstan in the Round of 32. She then went on to defeat the third seed Ozaki Seri 15-11 in the pre-quarterfinals.
Fencing Association of India secretary-general Rajeev Mehta congratulated Bhavani on her historic achievement.
“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,” Mehta told PTI.
“Although she lost in the semifinal, the contest was very close. It was a matter of just point. So it’s a big improvement.”
Now, the Tokyo Olympian is gearing up for the World Championships scheduled in Milan between July 22-30.
(With inputs from PTI and K. Keerthivasan)
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