“It is a huge feeling to defend my title" - India's Bhavani Devi after winning gold medal in Commonwealth Championships

Top-ranked Indian fencer and Tokyo Olympian CA Bhavani Devi is elated to have defended her Commonwealth Championship title. The Chennai-based ace beat Australian fencer Veronika Vasileva 15-10 to win the gold medal in the senior women’s sabre individual category in London on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media after defending her title, Bhavani Devi said:

"It is my second gold medal from the Commonwealth Championship. I won it in the last edition in 2018 (in Australia). The Commonwealth Fencing Championships happen every four years, at the same time as the Commonwealth Games. Unfortunately, fencing is not included in CWG."

The fencer said she was happy to defend her title and hoped to continue the momentum further.

“It is a huge feeling to defend my title. It was a tough final and I am glad I was able to add another gold medal for India this year. It has been a great journey for me and I would like to continue this momentum for the upcoming tournaments. The support back home has been great for me throughout," Bhavani added.

Bhavani Devi's journey at 2022 Commonwealth Championships

Bhavani, the top seed for the Commonwealth Fencing Championships, received a first-round bye. The Indian fencer beat Alexandra David 15-6 in the second round to advance to the semi-finals.

In the last four, Bhavani got the better of Lucy Higham of Scotland 15-5 to storm into the final.

The Commonwealth Championship gold medal brought a huge relief to the top-ranked Indian fencer. The sabre specialist had endured a tough year so far, finishing a lowly 23rd in the Fencing World Cup in Istanbul. She couldn't get past the second round at the World Championship in July in Cairo, either.

Bhavani Devi is the first and only Indian fencer to have competed in the Olympics when she qualified for the Tokyo Games last year.