Fujairah [UAE], April 29 (ANI): A six-member Indian fencing team, led by Bhavani Devi, failed to secure a single Paris 2024 Olympics quota from the Asia Oceania Zonal Qualifiers in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates, this weekend.
Bhavani Devi, who became the first Indian fencer to compete in the Olympics at Tokyo 2020 three years ago, was the top seed in the women’s sabre event at the Fujairah meet.
She beat Juliet Jie Min Heng of Singapore 15-8 in the quarterfinals but lost 15-12 to Chu Wing Kiu of Hong Kong, China, in the semis. Only the winners of each event secured an Olympic quota for their respective countries.
The Asia Oceania zonal fencing qualifier was also the final opportunity for Indian fencers to obtain quotas for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Karan Singh and Tanishka Khatri reached the finals in the men’s sabre and women’s epee events, respectively. However, both suffered contrasting defeats in their quota matches.
Karan Singh went down 15-2 in the summit clash against the People’s Republic of China’s Chenpeng Shen after a 15-14 win over Uzbekistan’s Musa Aymuratov in the semis. He defeated Thailand’s Voragun Srinualnad 15-4 in the quarters.
Tanishka Khatri on the other hand, went toe-to-toe with Singapore’s Kiria Tikanah in the final and was level at 13-all. However, the Indian fencer conceded the final two points to go down 15-13.
Dev (men’s foil), Udaivir Singh (men’s epee) and Joys Ashitha Stalinraj (women’s foil) failed to reach the quarterfinals at the Olympic fencing qualifiers. (ANI)
