Tokyo Olympics: Bhavani Devi Wins India's First-Ever Fencing Match In History Of Olympics

Bhavani Devi will now face fourth seed Manon Brunet of France in the next round, Table of 32. She was pumped up from the first 'En Garde' and led all the way through.

Photo: Kiren Rijiju / Twitter

India made a great start in the Tokyo Olympics today. India's lone representative at fencing, Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi has created history by winning a fencing match against Tunisia's Ben Ajizi Nadia. With this, Bhavani Devi has become the first athlete from India to win a fencing match at the Olympics. 29th seed Bhavani Devi won the Women's Individual Saber by a margin of 15-3 in just 6 minutes and 14 seconds at Makhuri Messe B Hall Yellow Piste.

Eight-time national champion Bhavani Devi dominated Nadia from the start and won the first round of the match 8-0.  The 27-year-old did not give any chance to the Tunisia player in the second round as well and won the second round and the match with a margin of 7-3.

Bhavani Devi will now face fourth seed Manon Brunet of France in the next round, Table of 32. Bhavani dominated from the beginning in this match as she was pumped up from the first 'En Garde' and led all the way through.

First swordsman to qualify for Olympics

Bhavani Devi from Chennai is the first Indian swordsman to qualify for the Olympics. Eight-time national champion Bhavani Devi has won a silver and a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Championship team events and has also won a bronze medal in the individual event of the same championship. She also won a bronze medal in the 2010 Asian Fencing Championships.

In the Saber competition of fencing, swordsmen earn points by hitting each other's bodies. In this, points can be made by touching the sword anywhere above the waist, apart from the wrists.