Asian Senior Fencing Championships: India’s women's fencing campaign at the Asian Games 2026 came to an end without a medal as C. A. Bhavani Devi and Shreya Gupta were eliminated in the individual sabre event here on Thursday.
Bhavani, India’s trailblazing Olympian, progressed to the pre-quarterfinals after recovering from a difficult pool-stage outing but could not go beyond the last 16.
The Indian sabre fencer suffered three defeats in the pool stage, losing 1-5 to South Korea’s Jeongmi Kim, 4-5 to Iran’s Najmeh Sazanjian and 4-5 to Uzbekistan’s Zaynab Dayibekova.
She, however, kept her hopes alive by securing victories in her next two bouts, beating Kazakhstan’s Aigerim Sarybay 5-4 and Thailand’s Arisara Somphao 5-2.
Bhavani then defeated Mongolia’s Oulen Tugsjargal 15-8 in the round of 32 to enter the pre-quarterfinals.
Her run finally ended against China’s Rao Xueyi, the silver medallist at the 2026 World Championships. Rao produced a dominant display to register a 15-5 victory and seal Bhavani’s exit.
Shreya also reached the round of 16 before her campaign was halted by South Korea’s Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Jeon Ha-young, who defeated the Indian 15-6.
Bhavani’s participation marked her return to the Asian Games stage after making history as India’s first fencer to compete at the Olympics at Tokyo 2020. She had returned to international competition earlier this year at the Asian Senior Fencing Championships following a two-month break from competitive action.
Shreya also reached the round of 16 before her campaign was halted by South Korea’s Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Jeon Ha-young, who defeated the Indian 15-6.
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The squad was selected by the Fencing Association of India’s selection committee based on performances at the Asian Senior Fencing Championships, World Fencing Championships and Commonwealth Fencing Championships.