NEDUMBASSERI: In a double delight for Kerala, star fencers CA Bhavani Devi and VP Dilna secured gold in the women’s individual sabre and epee sections on the opening day of the fencing competitions at the CIAL Convention Centre here on Monday.
Stefitha Chalil and K Bibish won the bronze in the women’s epee and men’s foil events, as they raised the medal tally to four.
In the semifinals, Dilna had won semifinals against Ruchi Trika of Services by a score of 15-11. She then hitched gold, post a charged-up contest against Assam’s TH Kabita Devi, with the final score reading 15-14. Kabita had beaten Stefitha in the semifinals 15-13.
Bhavani Devi looked comfortable all the way, as she eased through the semifinal against Manipur’s W Reni Devi in a 15-8 scoreline before hitting gold with a 15-6 victory against Komalpreet Shukla of Punjab.
“We had met in the sabre individual finals in several other competitions and she had won some of them. I am happy that I won this medal and my next aim would be to participate in the 2016 Olympics,” said Bhavani after the victory.
These medals were all expected. “Stefitha and Dilna were considered the front runners in the women’s epee individual. Bhavani was on another level in the sabre category and the gold was expected in that section. It was K Bibish that beat the odds and won the medal in the men’s foil” said coach Jijo Nidhi. K Bibish had lost 15-11 to Maharashtra’s L Tomba Singh in the semis.