India makes encouraging start at Asian Senior Fencing Championships in New Delhi

New Delhi: The 26th Asian Senior Fencing Championships began on a high note at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with Asia's leading fencers competing for continental honours and crucial qualification points for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.

While traditional powerhouses Japan and South Korea dominated the medal standings in the opening four individual events, India's contingent produced several encouraging performances, underlining the steady progress of the country's fencing programme.

In the Senior Men's Sabre event, South Korean star Oh Sanguk claimed the gold medal, defeating China's Luo Shaotong in the final. South Korea's Do Gyeongdong and Japan's Tsumori Shido shared the bronze medals.

India enjoyed a positive outing in the discipline, with three fencers breaking into the top 32. Vishal Thapar emerged as the best-performing Indian in 22nd place, followed by Karan Singh in 25th and Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan Padma in 28th. Lakshay Badser narrowly missed the top-32 cut and finished 33rd overall. Karan's spirited 15-11 contest against eventual champion Oh Sanguk was among the highlights of the Indian campaign.

The Senior Women's Foil competition was dominated by Japan, with World No. 5 Yuka Ueno defeating compatriot Sera Azuma in an all-Japan final. Komaki Kikuchi of Japan and Hong Kong's Daphne Chan Nok Sze shared the bronze medals.

India's standout performer was Kanupriya Chawla, who produced an impressive run to finish 20th overall, one of the host nation's best results in the championship so far. Joys Ashitha Stalinraj, Naorem Mina Devi and Sonia Devi Waikhom finished 43rd, 45th and 46th respectively.

Day Two featured the Men's Épée and Women's Sabre events. Japan's Yamada Masaru won the Men's Épée gold medal ahead of Chinese Taipei's Lee Rang, while Kazakhstan's Kurbanov Ruslan and Japan's Kano Koki shared bronze.

Joseph Bennet led the Indian challenge with a creditable 22nd-place finish. RS Sherjin Rajendran Shanthim, Aloshious Koovakkal Joshy and Shaurya Ashwini finished 47th, 54th and 55th respectively.

In the Women's Sabre event, Japan's Sano Yui secured gold, South Korea's Choi Sebin took silver, while Uzbekistan's Perdebaeva Gulistan and China's Rao Xueyi shared bronze.

Olympian C.A. Bhavani Devi spearheaded the Indian effort, finishing 23rd overall. Shreya Gupta secured 26th place, Jefarlin Jani Rexlin Simla finished 32nd, and Shruthi Joshi placed 38th.

Though India did not reach the medal rounds, the performances of Kanupriya Chawla, Vishal Thapar, Karan Singh, Joseph Bennet and Bhavani Devi reflected the growing competitiveness of Indian fencing. With the individual events concluded, attention now shifts to the team competitions, where India will look to build on its promising start before the home crowd.

Tags : Fencing, Asian Championships, Bharat Mandapam, Sports, Bhavani Devi, Oh Sanguk, South Korea, Sano Yui, Japan