India’s Bhavani Devi won the gold medal in the ongoing Commonwealth Fencing Championship in London, defending the title she won last time.The 42nd ranked Indian fencer defeated second-seeded Australian Veronika Vasileva 15-10 in the senior women’s sabre individual category final on Tuesday.

Bhavani first received a bye in the opening round, and went on to face Alexandra David in the next round. She won the match 15-6 to advance to the semi-finals. Then came Lucy Higham of Scotland, and Bhavani won by a comfortable margin of 15-5.Since becoming the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, the Chennai-born Bhavani has had a steady rise in her sport.

The year began with the World Cup in Istanbul where she finished 23rd after missing out on a spot in the last-32.Thereafter, Bhavani’s World Championship campaign in July at Cairo ended in the second round. The Commonwealth Fencing Championship is her 10th international tournament this year.

Speaking after her win, Bhavani, 28, said, “It was a tough final and I am glad I could add another gold medal for India this year. It has been a great journey for me this year and I would like to continue this momentum for the upcoming tournaments. The support back home has been great for me throughout.”The Tokyo Olympian said the Indian women’s sabre team has a very good chance of reaching the final of the Commonwealth Championships,which will be held on Thursday, provided there is teamwork.

“Team work is important,”she said. Rajeev Mehta, secretary general of the Fencing Association of India, sees her as the torchbearer of fencing in the country.“She has been an inspiration to every fencer in India, and it is because of her that many youngsters now dream of making it big in the global fencing map.

“This gold medal only adds to our belief that fencing in India is growing and I am confident that the day is not far away when we will have Indian fencers competing at the top international tournaments regularly including the Olympics,” he said.Tamil actor and director Sasikumar also congratulated Bhavani. Taking to Twitter, Sasikumar wrote: “Congrats Bhavani Devi! Individual gold at the Commonwealth Championship 2022 London (in) Fencing.”Sasikumar had supported Bhavani by providing her financial assistance at one point in time.