Asian Games 2023: Bhavani Devi suffers quarter-final heartbreak, finishes with joint-best Indian result

Bhavani Devi defeated Asian Champion Zayaneb Dayibekova in Pools.

India's star fencer Bhavani Devi lost in the quarterfinals of the women's sabre individual event to China's Shao Yuqi (7-15) at Asian Games 2023. The 30-year-old recently created history at the Asian Fencing Championships 2023 by winning the bronze medal after defeating two-time World Champion and WR-1 Misaki Emura 15-10. She then lost to the eventual champion Zayanab Dayibekova of Uzbekistan (14-15) in the semifinals.

Bhavani Devi started well by winning all of her pool matches convincingly and was seeded 1st after the Pool Stage. She defeated the Asian Champion and WR-26 Zayanab Dayibekova (5-1) in on one of the pool matches. The WR-32 after a solid start got a bye in the R32 and was directly through to the quarterfinals of Asian Games 2023.

In the quarterfinals, the Indian defeated Tonkhaw Phokaew of Thailand (15-9) and was just a round away from clinching atleast a historic bronze. However she lost to 2018 Asian Games silver medalist Shao Yuqi of China (7-15).

Bhavani Devi alongside Asian Championships bronze medalist Yang Hengyu were the only fencers to win all the pool matches. By finishing in the quarterfinals, she also achieved the joint-best place by an Indian at the Asian Games in fencing. The other Indians to reach the quarterfinals are Taniksha Khatri (2023) and Jyotika Dutta (2018) in women's Epee.

Bhavani Devi's road to quarterfinals at Asian Games 2023

Pool Stage

• beat Karina Dospay (5-3)
• beat Alhammad Alhsna Abdulrahman (5-1)
• beat Khatun Roksana (5-1)
• beat Zayanab Dayibekova (5-1)
• Heng Julliet Jie Min (5-1)

Elimination

Table of 32 - Bye

Table of 16 - beatTonkhaw Phokaew (15-9)

Table of 8 - lost to Shao Yuqi (7-15)