Picture Credit: Twitter
Indian fencer Bhavani Devi’s run at the 19th Asian Games came to an end after she was knocked out by a senior ranked Chinese fencer. The Indian Olympian suffered a 7-15 defeat against China’s Yaqi Shao in the quarterfinals after maintaining a dominating performance at the Games in the women’s sabre individual event.
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Devi, who was just one win away from securing a medal for the country in Asian Games, managed to start strong against Shao with a few touches, but the local favourite took control of the game thereafter to progress into the semifinals of the women’s sabre category.
In her quest for her maiden Asian Games medal, Bhavani Devi showcased exceptional skills as she initially took an 803 lead against her Chinese opponent, but later thumped to a 7-15 defeat to bow out of the event. However, she took a moment to lash out at the bias decisions made by the referee in her post defeat address at the Games.
“The referee was not right with me in the beginning, he gave a quick series of 3-4 touches to the Chinese fencer which I was sure in my mind were actually my touches,” Devi quoted. “Our game is fast, you cannot give so many points away to someone so quickly. But it was my mistake too, I started worrying about things which were not in my control,” she further added.
Talking about her performance at the Games, Bhavani commence with a win over Singapore’s Juliet Jie Min Heng, 5-2. She thereafter followed with a commanding 5-1 win over Saudi Arabia’s Alhsna Alhammad. The 30-year-old then defeated Asian Championships bronze medallist 5-3 advancing into the quarterfinals with a win over Tonkhaw Phokaew 15-9 to top her pool.
