Commonwealth Fencing Championship: Bhavani Devi beats second-seeded Veronika Vasileva to defend her title

After
becoming
the
first-ever
Indian
Fencer
to
have
qualified
for
the
Olympics
at
Tokyo,
the
Chennai-born
fencer
who
represents
Tamil
Nadu
has
had
a
steady
rise
in
her
performance
in
2022.

The
year
began
with
the
Fencing
World
Cup
in
Istanbul
where
she
finished
23rd
after
missing
out
on
a
spot
in
the
last
32.
Thereafter
in
July,
Bhavani
Devi’s
World
Championship
campaign
in
Cairo
ended
in
the
second
round.
The
Commonwealth
Fencing
Championship
2022
is
her
10th
international
tournament
of
this
year
and
she
has
been
able
to
perform
commendably
in
these
high-profile
tournaments.

Speaking
post
her
win
C
A
Bhavani
Devi
said,
“It
is
a
huge
feeling
to
defend
my
title.
It
was
a
tough
final
and
I
am
glad
I
could
add
another
Gold
medal
for
India
this
year.
It
has
been
a
great
journey
for
me
this
year
and
I
would
like
to
continue
this
momentum
for
the
upcoming
tournaments.
The
support
back
home
has
been
great
for
me
throughout.”

“I
would
like
to
congratulate
C
A
Bhavani
Devi
on
winning
the
title
again
this
edition.
She
has
been
an
inspiration
to
every
fencer
in
India,
and
it
is
because
of
her
that
many
youngsters
now
dream
of
making
it
big
on
the
global
fencing
map.
This
Gold
medal
only
adds
to
our
belief
that
Fencing
in
India
is
growing
and
I
am
confident
that
the
day
is
not
far
away
when
we
will
have
Indian
fencers
competing
at
the
top
international
tournaments
regularly
including
the
Olympics,”
said
an
elated
Rajeev
Mehta,
Secretary
General,
Fencing
Association
of
India.

Fencing
as
a
sport
is
recognised
by
the
Commonwealth
Games
Federation
(CGF)
and
was
a
part
of
the
Commonwealth
Games
programme
till
1970.
Since
1970
the
Commonwealth
Fencing
Championships
are
held
every
four
years
in
the
same
year
as
the
Commonwealth
Games.