Asian Games 2023: Fencer Bhavani Devi goes down to China's Yaqi Shao in women's sabre quarter-finals

Bhavani Devi’s unbeaten run in fencing at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou came to an end on Tuesday, following a 7-15 defeat to China’s Yaqi Shao. Follow LIVE:  Asian Games Day 3 updates Earlier, Bhavani had topped her pool to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals with dominant efforts. She started off by beating her Singapore rival Juliet Jie Min Heng 5-2, and then out-skilled Saudi Arabia’s Alhsna Alhammad 5-1. Against Karina Dospay, the Asian Championships bronze medal-winning Indian prevailed 5-3. In her last two pool fixtures, she easily beat Uzbekistan’s Zaynab Dayibekova and Roksana Khatun of Bangladesh by identical 5-1 margins. She then went onto get the better of Tonkhaw Phokaew of Thailand with a scoreline of 15-9, to reach the quarter-finals. But her Chinese opponent in the last eight was superior as she took an 8-3 lead and needed just seven more touches to qualify for her successive semi-final at the continental showpiece. Bhavani managed four more touches in the second period but that proved to be insufficient. The fencer, who makes 15 touches first in a knock-out round, is adjudged winner and Shao sealed the issue in the second period without breaking a sweat. Semifinalists are assured of at least a bronze medal in fencing, and the Tokyo Olympian would consider herself ‘unlucky’ pitted against the 2018 Asian Games silver medallist in the last-eight. With inputs from PTI