File photo of Bhavani Devic© Twitter
India’s Bhavani Devi won the gold medal here in the ongoing Commonwealth Fencing Championship, defending the title she won last time. The 42nd-ranked Indian fencer defeated second-seeded Australian Veronika Vasileva 15-10 in the senior individual saber final on Tuesday. Since she became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, Chennai-born Bhavani has seen steady growth in her sport.
The year started with the World Cup in Istanbul, where she finished 23rd after missing out on a spot in the last 32.
After that, Bhavani’s World Cup campaign ended in the second round in Cairo in July. The Commonwealth Fencing Championship is its 10th international tournament this year.
After her win, Bhavani said: “It was a tough final and I’m happy to add another gold medal for India this year. It’s been a great journey for me this year and I’m looking forward to continuing this momentum for the tournaments to come. The support at home has been great for me all along.” Rajeev Mehta, secretary general of the Fencing Association of India, sees her as the torchbearer of fencing in the country.
“She has been an inspiration to every fencer in India and it is thanks to her that many young people now dream of becoming big on the global fencing map.
promoted
“This gold medal only adds to our belief that fencing is growing in India and I am confident that the day is not far off when Indian fencers will compete regularly in the top international tournaments, including the Olympics,” said Bhatia .
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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