Bhavani Devi registers her best outing at Sabre World Cup

Star Indian fencer Bhavani Devi registered a superb outing at the first Sabre World Cup of the year in Lima, Peru on Saturday.

Bhavani finished fifteenth after upsetting world no.11 Yang Hengyu of China in the round of 32.

This is her best performance on the World Cup circuit in fourteen years after an eighth-place finish in the World Cup in Pattaya City, Thailand, in 2010.

Due to this commendable performance, she will also rise in rankings which will increase her chances of qualifying for this year's Paris Olympics. These points will help her in claiming a ranking quota through the final world ranking list which will be updated on April 1, 2024.

Bhavani was seeded 27th in the tournament after winning four out of six matches in the pool stage. This performance at the pool stage helped her in the knockout round as she got a bye in the first round of the competition.

Her first knockout match was against JI Young Kyoung of South Korea in which she comfortably won (15-9) and confirmed her spot in the main draw. Her main draw match was against higher-seeded Palina Kaspiarovich of Azerbaijan but Bhavani emerged winner 15-11.

In the second round of the main draw, she was up against world no.11 Yang Hengyu of China but Bhavani started on a high note with an early lead of 6-0. The Chinese fencer took a five-minute medical break at this point after facing a slight injury to her finger.

Yang came back after the break with a solid attacking play and closed the deficit to only two points but in the end, Bhavani pulled up an upset (15-11) and booked her place in the pre-quarterfinals.

Bhavani's good run at this World Cup came to an end in the round of 16 as she lost (10-15) to her long-time rival Zaynab Daybekova of Uzbekistan. However, this performance will boost her confidence going forward in the Olympic year.