Starting with a win over Bhavani Devi, fencer Josna seeks more competitions for improvement

Josna was a part of the Indian women’s sabre team that won the Commonwealth championship bronze in London last year.

Published : Jan 13, 2023 21:20 IST

Josna Christy Jose feels that if she had received international training at that stage, things could have been different.
Josna Christy Jose feels that if she had received international training at that stage, things could have been different. | Photo Credit: Stan Rayan / The Hindu
infoIcon

Josna Christy Jose feels that if she had received international training at that stage, things could have been different. | Photo Credit: Stan Rayan / The Hindu

When fencer Josna Christy Jose made her senior National debut in Raipur in January 2017, she did not have any burden of expectations from anybody.

But the 19-year-old entered the sabre final, where she shocked international Bhavani Devi in a tight final, and won the National gold on her first try.

“I don’t think she lost because I was a very good fencer then, she may have played it easy since I was just a beginner and then it was probably difficult for her to come back,” said Josna in a chat with Sportstar on the sidelines of the sub-junior Nationals at the Regional Sports Centre here.

But while Bhavani’s graph kept rising – she won the Commonwealth championship gold and became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo two years ago – since, Josna’s did not hit big time, though she won silver, behind the famed fencer, in four Nationals after that.

“After my gold, we had a camp in Pune, went for the Asian championship but there was no major turning point or change in my fencing life then,” said the young woman from Wayanad who trains under National sabre coach Sagar Lagu at the SAI (Sports Authority of India) centre, Thalassery.

She feels that if she had received international training at that stage, things could have been different.

“However much we train, we need quality competitions to do well, the more we get the better we can be,” she said.

Josna was a part of the Indian women’s sabre team that won the Commonwealth championship bronze in London last year and she also competed in World Cups in Georgia and Tunisia in 2022.

“I haven’t had foreign training at all. We have a few fencers training abroad now but we need to send a bigger group, and in groups for training, to assess and help out each other,” she said.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment