Fencing World Cup 2022, Istanbul: India’s Bhavani Devi finishes 23rd
Bhavani Devi had won all six of her matches in the pool stage before losing in the table of 32.
Tokyo Olympian Bhavani Devi finished 23rd out of 166 fencers at the women’s individual sabre Fencing World Cup 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday. She was knocked out in the table of 32.
Bhavani Devi, who is the only Indian fencer to ever compete at the Olympics, was the lone Indian competing in Istanbul.
The World No. 56 Bhavani Devi put up an impressive performance in the pool stage, beating all six opponents to finish first in her pool.
The 28-year-old Indian was tied fifth overall after the first round and earned a direct entry to the main table of 64, where she triumphed 15-8 over the 44th seed Lin Kesi from China.
Bhavani Devi’s run came to an end in the table of 32 as she lost 15-9 to World No. 23 Caroline Queroli, a 2018 team world championship winner with France.
The Indian fencer had not progressed beyond the main table of 64 in the last three World Cups this year. Bhavani Devi lost in the preliminary round of 64 at Tbilisi, Georgia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria before being ousted in the main table of 64 at Athens, Greece.
Meanwhile, Karan Singh finished 89th out of 204 fencers at the World Cup in Budapest, Hungary, which is being held concurrently.