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Tanishka Khatri lost to Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman of Singapore in the women’s epee final at the Asia-Oceania Zone Olympic Qualifiers.
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India will not be represented in fencing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite a courageous effort from Taniksha Khatri in the women’s epee final of the 2024 Asia-Oceania Zonal Olympic Qualifiers in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. This came moments after Bhavani Devi, who was the first Indian fencer to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, was upset in the women’s saber semi-final.
Tanishka, 20, kept the country’s hopes of qualifying for the Paris Olympics alive by making it to the final. She fought hard against Singapore’s Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman but lost 13-15. She continued to recover but did not allow her higher-ranked opponent to escape with a big lead.
The Karnal-based fencer, who lost in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games, equalized at 13-13 before the Singaporean fencer made two critical touches.
Congratulations to Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman @EscrimeSG🇸🇬 for obtaining your ticket for #Paris2024 with a 15-13 victory against Taniksha Khatri🇮🇳 in the Women’s Indiv. #sword event during the Asia-Oceania qualifiers in Fujairah.#fencing #RouteToParis #Olympic Games
📸 UAE Fencing Federation pic.twitter.com/2skBTpM3ur– FIE (@FIE_fencing) April 29, 2024
Earlier, Bhavani bowed out of the women’s saber competition in the semifinals, conceding five straight points to Hong Kong’s Chu Wing Kiu despite leading 12-10. Ranked 33rd in the world, Bhavani Devi was the highest-ranked fencer in the competition and the favorite to win the women’s saber ticket to the Games which begin on June 26. The Hong Kong fencer fought her way into the match with five successive touches to turn the match around.
On Saturday, Karan Singh Gurjar’s bid to book an Olympic berth was dashed by China’s Chengpeng Shen with a 2-15 defeat in the men’s saber final.
