TOKYO,july 26: India’s first-ever fencer to represent India at the Olympics has also became the first to win a bout at the Games as CA Bhavani Devi made a winning start to her historic Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 on Monday.
A 27 years old Bhavani Devi, making her Games debut exhibits nerves of steel as she was in complete control of her Women’s Sabre Individual Table of 64 bout, beating Tunisia’s Nadia Ben Azizi 15-3. Inspite of a delay in the start to their bout, Bhavani Devi kept her composure and raced to an 8-0 lead.
Bhavani Devi was looking solid and did not allow her lower-ranked opponent Azizi to get any momentum over the 2 rounds.
Bhavani not only attacked with precision but also collected points when she was on the backfoot with some smart touches.
In Sabre fencing, a point is collected when a fencer touches the opponent above the waist or on the head with the edges or the tip of the Sabre. The first fencer to reach 15 points over two rounds will be declared the winner.
A Bhavani Devi, seeded 29, faces a tough test in her Round of 32 bout as she takes on World No. 3 and 4th seed Manon Brunet of France. The session will get underway from 7:30 am IST on Monday.
From choosing the sport at school as that was the only option left for her, to qualifying for the Olympics, it has been one memorable as well as arduous journey for Bhavani.
The 27-year-old from Chennai, who made history by becoming the first fencer from India to make it to the Olympic Games, trained extensively in Italy.