HANGZHOU: Top seed Bhavani Devi couldn't control her anger after being controversially declared the loser in the quarterfinal of the women's sabre fencing event here on Tuesday. She didn't go for the customary handshake with her opponent-China's Shao Yaqi-after the end of her match, threw her sabre on the 'piste' (fencing mat) in rage before picking it up and then walked off the competition arena at the Hangzhou Dianzi University Gymnasium with her coach without acknowledging the crowd.
Had Bhavani prevailed over 2018 Jakarta edition silver medallist Yaqi, she would have made history by becoming the first from the country to win a medal in fencing at the Asiad. But destiny had other plans.
Bhavani, ranked 32 in the world, lost to the world No. 12 15-7. Throughout the contest, she kept complaining about the unfair judging and had several arguments with the referee, who she alleged was favouring the local fencer.
She protested against the quick points offered by the referee to the Chinese through four, five touches at the start of the quarters but they weren't reviewed. "Honestly, the first few points, the referee's decisions… I don't agree with it," she said later.
"Even the first point, when I asked him for a video, he was angry. I was surprised why he got angry first of all. Sometimes they do if we doubt their decisions. It was a quarterfinal, so I told myself to focus on the next touch," Bhavani said after her loss.
