Recently C.A. Bhavani Devi of India won a Bronze Medal in the Asian Fencing Championship. She lost to player of which country in the Semi-final ?

Correct — option (3), Uzbekistan.

C.A. Bhavani Devi won bronze in women's sabre at the 2023 Asian Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China. Sportstar reported that she lost her semi-final to Zaynab Dayibekova of Uzbekistan, 15–14.

At 14–14, the referee gave Bhavani a red card for an 'early start'. Dayibekova went on to win the final against South Korea's Yoon Ji-su.

At these championships the individual events had no bout for third place, so both beaten semi-finalists took bronze. Sportstar reported the bronze as India's first-ever medal at the event.

The idea to remember: Bhavani Devi, sabre bronze, Wuxi 2023: beat Japan's Misaki Emura, lost to Uzbekistan's Zaynab Dayibekova.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  UAE — Bhavani's semi-final opponent was Zaynab Dayibekova of Uzbekistan, who won it 15–14.

  No fencer from the UAE features in her reported route to the medal: a win over Kazakhstan's Karina Dospay, then over the third seed Seri Ozaki and Japan's Misaki Emura, before the semi-final.

• (2)
  Egypt — Egypt is not in Asia's fencing zone, and Bhavani's semi-final opponent at Wuxi came from Uzbekistan.

  Egypt's link to this story is elsewhere: the 2022 World Fencing Championships were held in Cairo, where Japan's Misaki Emura won the women's sabre title.

• (4)
  Japan — Japan was Bhavani's quarter-final opponent, not her semi-final one. She beat Misaki Emura, the reigning world champion, 15–10 to reach the medal rounds.

  In the semi-final she then lost 15–14 to Zaynab Dayibekova of Uzbekistan.

Fencing has three weapons: foil, épée and sabre. Bhavani Devi fences sabre, where touches can be scored with the edge as well as the point of the blade.

A knockout bout is fought to 15 touches. At Wuxi in 2023 there was no bout for third place: both losing semi-finalists in women's sabre, Bhavani Devi and China's Yang Hengyu, received bronze.

Formats differ between events. The women's sabre event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in which Bhavani Devi competed, ended with a bronze-medal bout.

Key facts

• C.A. Bhavani Devi won bronze in women's sabre at the 2023 Asian Fencing Championships in Wuxi, China (17–22 June 2023).
• She beat Japan's Misaki Emura, the reigning world champion, 15–10 in the quarter-final.
• She lost the semi-final 15–14 to Zaynab Dayibekova of Uzbekistan, after a red card for an early start at 14–14 (Sportstar).
• Dayibekova won the gold, beating South Korea's Yoon Ji-su in the final.
• Sportstar, and the Fencing Association of India's secretary-general quoted there, called it the first Indian medal at the Asian Fencing Championships.

Common traps

• Swapping rounds: Japan's Misaki Emura was Bhavani's quarter-final opponent; the semi-final was against Uzbekistan's Zaynab Dayibekova.
• Carrying one format to every event: at Wuxi both losing semi-finalists in women's sabre received bronze, while the Tokyo 2020 Olympic women's sabre event had a bronze-medal bout.
• Choosing the finalist's country: South Korea's Yoon Ji-su reached the final, but Bhavani did not face her at Wuxi.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 and 2018 here once those papers are published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  At the 2023 Asian Fencing Championships in Wuxi, C.A. Bhavani Devi defeated the reigning world champion in the quarter-final. Who was that fencer?

  • (a)Zaynab Dayibekova
  • (b)Misaki Emura
  • (c)Yoon Ji-su
  • (d)Yang Hengyu
  Answer(2) — Bhavani beat Japan's Misaki Emura 15–10 in the quarter-final. Option (1) beat Bhavani in the semi-final; option (3) lost the final; option (4) was the other bronze medallist.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  In which weapon did C.A. Bhavani Devi win bronze at the 2023 Asian Fencing Championships?

  • (a)Foil
  • (b)Épée
  • (c)Sabre
  • (d)Rapier
  Answer(3) — Her bronze came in women's individual sabre. Options (1) and (2) are the other two fencing weapons; option (4) is not a weapon of modern competitive fencing.