The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every fourth year among athletes from all over Asia.
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every fourth year among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation until 1978. The venue for the first was India in New Delhi. Since 1982, they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation. Asian games have been recognised by the International Olympic Association as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics. The 2023 edition of the Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8.
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. The modern sport of fencing features three disciplines: the foil, the epee and the sabre. Each discipline uses a different kind of blade. However, all of them share a common name. Nevertheless, there are separate rules for each discipline. Most competitive fencers specialise in one discipline only.
The Indian fencers are gearing up for an impactful performance in the multi-sport tournament in a couple of weeks’ time. The Indian fencing lineup is as follows:
| Participant | Category |
| Sunil Kumar | Individual & Team |
| Shankar Pandey | Individual & Team |
| Udayvir Singh | Team |
| Sherjin R. S. | Team |
| Participant | Category |
| Taniksha Khatri | Individual & Team |
| Ena Arora | Individual & Team |
| Yashkeerat Kaur | Team |
| Jyotika Dutta | Team |
| Participant | Category |
| Bhavani Devi | Individual & Team |
| Jagmeet Kaur | Individual & Team |
| Rishika Khujuria | Team |
| Joshna Christy Jose | Team |
| Participant | Category |
| Karan Singh Gurjar | Individual & Team |
| Gisho Kumaresan | Individual & Team |
| Vishal Thapar | Team |
| Abhay Shinde | Team |
| Participant | Category |
| Arjun | Individual & Team |
| Dev | Individual & Team |
| Bibish Kathireshan | Team |
| Akash Kumar | Team |
| Participant | Category |
| Radhika Awati | Individual & Team |
| Mariya Akshita | Individual & Team |
| V. P. Mahalakshmi | Team |
| Jenisha N. V. | Team |
The fencer who put India on the map of fencing map of India was Bhavana Devi. Bhavani Devi is an Indian sabre fencer. She became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics after qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Bhavana’s medal tally starts from the Bronze medal at the 2009 Commonwealth Championship in Malaysia. She won Bronze medals in the 2010 International Open in Thailand. This was followed by the 2010 Cadet Asian Championship, Philippines and the 2012 Common Wealth Championship, Jersey. Three years later in 2015, she won the Under-23 Asian Championship in Mongolia and the 2015 Flemish Open. In the 2014 Asian Championship under the 23 category in the Philippines, she bagged the Silver medal becoming the first Indian to do so. As of April 2021, she ranks 42nd in the world with 37.0 points.
Another prominent fencer who will be a big headline in the Asian Games will be youngster Tanishka Khatri. The 20-year-old fencer is currently world-ranked 192. Tanishka already surprised everyone in 2022 after an impeccable performance in the Doha Grand Prix where she defeated the then world no. 20. Heading to China, coaches will expect a similar performance from her during the tournament.
For the men’s team, all hopes will be on Karan Singh Gurjar. Karan who hails from Rajasthan is the next best bet for India in Fencing after Olympian Bhavani Devi. The 24-year-old started his journey in 2010 and has seen gradual improvements from cadets to juniors and finally the senior section. He is currently the top-ranked fencer from India in men’s Sabre. Although he is gearing up for Paris Olympics slotted for next year, the Asian Games can prove to be an equally challenging forte for the 24-year-old.
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