Aichi-Nagoya, 24 September (H.S.): Indian fencers C. A. Bhavani Devi and Shreya Gupta bowed out of the women’s individual sabre event at the Asian Games 2026 after suffering defeats in the pre-quarterfinals.

Olympian Bhavani Devi began her campaign in the pool stage with defeats against South Korea’s Jeongmi Kim, 1-5; Iran’s Najmeh Sajanjian, 4-5; and Uzbekistan’s Zaynab Dayibekova, 4-5. She then defeated Kazakhstan’s Aigerim Sarybay 5-4 and Thailand’s Arisara Somphao 5-2 to advance to the knockout stage.

In the Round of 32, Bhavani defeated Mongolia’s Oulen Tugsjargal 15-8. However, she lost 5-15 to China’s Rao Shujie, the silver medallist at the 2026 World Championships, in the pre-quarterfinals.

India’s other entrant, Shreya Gupta, also failed to progress beyond the pre-quarterfinals. She was defeated 15-6 by South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung, the silver medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar