Asian Games, fencing: Bhavani Devi’s campaign ends after defeat in quarterfinals

Hangzhou [China]: Indian fencer Bhavani Devi’s spectacular campaign in the ongoing 19th Asian Games came to an end after she lost to reigning Asian Silver medalist Shao Yaqi 7-15 in the Women’s Sabre quarterfinal on Tuesday.

The top-seeded Indian was on a six-game winning streak before this loss. The Indian fencer displayed remarkable strength and spirit but faced a tough challenge.

Earlier, Bhavani had won 5 out of 5 matches in the pool stage. Bhavani completed the group stage with five out of five victories as in her fifth match, she won over Roksana Khatun of Bangladesh 5-1. She received a bye and advanced directly to the round of 16 as a result of being the top seed for the knockout stage.

Bhavani defeated Thai fencer Tonkhaw Phokaew 15-9 to advance to the quarterfinals of the women’s sabre individual event.

The 30-year-old Bhavani got off to a winning start as she defeated Singapore’s Juliet Jie Min Heng 5-2 in her first group stage bout in the women’s sabre individual event.

To keep her winning streak intact, she defeated Uzbek fencer Zaynab Dayibekova 5-1 after getting the better of Kazakh fencer Karina Dospay (5-3) to secure her third victory of the day.

Against Dospay, the Asian Championships bronze medal-winning Indian prevailed 5-3. In her second group stage, she thumped Saudi Arabia’s Alhammad 5-1.