Tokyo Olympics: Indian fencer Bhavani Devi goes down fighting on Games debut
Tokyo: Bhavani Devi's Olympic debut campaign ended in a fighting second- round defeat in the women's individual sabre event, the trailblazing Indian fencer bowing out with much promise here on Monday.
The 27-year-old Bhavani, the first fencer from the country to qualify for the Olympics, began her campaign with a confident 15-3 win against Tunisia's Nadia Ben Azizi but bumped into world number three and Rio Olympic semifinalist Manon Brunet in the next round, which she lost 7-15.
Bhavani said she committed mistakes against Brunet but will take the result in her stride.
"I didn't fence well in the first half but in the second half I tried to change something but it was too late. I am happy I fenced with one of the top fencers in the world," Bhavani said of her contest against Brunet.
"In between I was doing some mistakes but it is okay, sabre is very quick. It is the first time Indians will watch fencing, so I am very happy that I could perform in front of them."
The Chennai fencer said she has gained experience from the Tokyo outing, which should help her in future challenges.
"It is my first Olympics and it could be better but I am okay with the experience I had from this Olympics. It will be a learning experience for me to improve myself.
"I did not qualify for Rio, I tried my best to qualify and that helped me to become stronger as a person and to move forward for Tokyo. From here onwards, I will be living my dream as an Olympian."
Bhavani said "staying away from family and missing normal life" was the sacrifice she had to make to live her dream.
"I train in Italy. It is worth it and it is my family's dream, too, so I am happy," she said adding that she worked on her basic foot work at her terrace during the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
Bhavani's aggression yielded points against Azizi but French Brunet used all her experience to negate the tactics of the Indian, who lost two points for going out of the arena.
The Indian could score only one point each in the first two periods but came back well in the third.
Brunet was sharp and had a better technique as she scored points from distance.
After trailing 2-8 going into the third and final round, Bhavani needed nothing short of a spectacular show in the final one, but Brunet largely remained untroubled in the nine minute and 48 second match.
In the opening round though, Chennai's Bhavani was a much better player, taking advantage of Azizi's open stance that allowed her to score points quickly.
Bhavani did not concede a single point in the first three-minute period and raced to a commanding 8-0 lead against the Tunisian.
Nadia managed some touches in the second period but the Indian kept building her lead to win the contest in six minutes and 14 seconds.
The fencer who touches the 15 point-mark first, is declared winner.
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Electoral trusts fill BJP coffers after scrapping of electoral bonds, shows ECI website
New Delhi: Contrary to expectations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would be adversely affected by the Supreme Court’s scrapping of the electoral bonds scheme in February 2024, the party’s finances have seen a significant boost in 2024–25 through electoral trusts. It has emerged that electoral trusts alone donated ₹2,577 crore to the BJP during this period.
Following the abolition of electoral bonds, corporate donors seeking partial anonymity appear to have shifted to the electoral trust route, with the BJP continuing to be the largest beneficiary.
According to data available on the Election Commission of India’s website, a total of ₹4,276 crore was donated through electoral trusts, of which the ruling BJP received 83.6 per cent. Compared to 2023–24, corporate donations flowing to the BJP have increased nearly fourfold. The Congress received 7.3 per cent of the total donations, while the Trinamool Congress accounted for 3.6 per cent.
Donations received through electoral trusts constitute only a portion of the total funds collected by political parties. Parties also receive contributions directly from individuals, corporates, institutions and charitable organisations. Over the past several years, donations from sources other than electoral trusts have also shown a steady increase.
