New Delhi, 20th June 2026: The 26th Asian Senior Fencing Championships started with great energy at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. This major tournament serves as a direct qualifier for the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the LA 2028 Olympic cycle. On Day 2, the action moved to intense individual matches in two main categories: the Men’s Épée Individual and the Women’s Sabre Individual. While top fencing nations like Japan and South Korea won the main medals, the 24-member Indian team showed great progress by pushing many of their athletes deep into the knockout rounds.
In the Men’s Épée division, strict timing and passivity rules forced fencers to make quick, aggressive attacks in the final 30 seconds of their matches. Yamada Masaru of Japan showed amazing calmness under pressure to win the gold medal. Lee Rang of Chinese Taipei won the silver medal after a tough run, while traditional favorites Kurbanov Ruslan of Kazakhstan and Kano Koki of Japan took home the joint-bronze medals. For India, Joseph Bennet led the squad’s rankings by finishing 22nd overall after scoring important points using risky, fast running attacks. RS Sherjin Rajendran Shanthim finished 47th, leading the team’s defensive strategy with a smart point-control style. Aloshious Koovakkal Joshy finished 54th, gaining helpful technical data through good timing, while Shaurya Ashwini finished 55th after showing great toughness in long, slow-paced matches.
In the Women’s Sabre event, Sano Yui of Japan gave a masterclass performance to win the gold medal. Choi Sebin of South Korea fought aggressively to secure the silver medal, while Perdebaeva Gulistan of Uzbekistan and Rao Xueyi of China shared the third step on the podium for joint-bronze. For the home crowd, India’s famous Olympic fencer C.A. Bhavani Devi led the way, finishing 23rd overall. Using her signature fast attacks, she completely dominated her early matches to secure a strong spot in the rankings. Her great energy helped her young Indian teammates, with Shreya Gupta finishing 26th, Jefarlin Jani Rexlin Simla placing 32nd, and Shruthi Joshi finishing 38th as they worked hard to secure good individual rankings for the upcoming team events.
This followed a strong performance on Day 1, where Indian Men’s Sabre fencers Vishal Thapar finished 22nd, Karan Singh finished 25th after a brave 15-11 fight against Olympic legend Oh Sang-uk, and Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan Padma finished 28th to make the Top 32. Additionally, Kanupriya Chawla pulled off a huge upset to finish 20th in Women’s Foil. Together, these official results show that Indian fencers are now truly competing with Asia’s best athletes rather than just participating. With the individual matches now officially finished, everyone is looking forward to the Team Bracket Knockouts, where fierce team rivalries are ready to begin.
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