New Delhi, July 21 (IANS) A 24-member Indian fencing contingent has officially departed for Hong Kong to represent the country in the Senior World Fencing Championships 2026, which will take place from July 22 to July 30, 2026.
The nine-day flagship event will be held at the AsiaWorld-Expo venue. The Indian team consists of 12 men and 12 women athletes competing across all three fencing disciplines — Épée, Foil, and Sabre, in both individual and team formats. The contingent, supported by five national coaches and two physiotherapists, departed on Monday night.
The squad includes the country's top fencers minus Olympian CA Bhavani Devi, who is currently serving a suspension imposed by the sport's global governing body for being shown the Black Card for her behavior during the Team Event at the Asian Fencing Championships 2026, which took place in New Delhi.
Though the squad is without the country's most experienced fencer, it departed for the mega event high on confidence.
Sending his best wishes to the Indian squad, Rajeev Mehta, Secretary-General, Fencing Association of India, said, "This World Championship represents a major milestone for Indian fencing as we test our strength against the very best in the world. Our athletes across Épée, Foil, and Sabre have put in intense preparation and shown remarkable grit throughout the national and international season. We have immense belief in this contingent's ability to compete with fearlessness, push boundaries, and bring pride to the nation in Hong Kong. I wish them good luck."
Indian squad:
Épée (Women): Taniksha Khatri, Prachi Lohan, Yashkeerat Kaur Hayer, Mitva Jesangbhai Chaudhari
Épée (Men): Sherjin Rajendran Shanthimol, Joseph Bennet, Siva Magesh Sathasivan Nirmala, Shaurya Ashwini
Foil (Women): Joys Ashitha Stalinraj, Mina Devi Naorem, Kanupriya Chawla, Sonia Devi Waikhom
Foil (Men): Sachin, Hemash Singh Sanasam, Aditya, Tejas Manoj Patil
Sabre (Women): Shreya Gupta, Jefarlin Jani Rexlin Simla, Shruti Joshi, Aakhri
Sabre (Men): Karan Singh, Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan Padma, Lakshay Badser, Vishal Thapar
Day-Wise Event Schedule
July 22: Qualifications – Men's Foil & Women's Épée
July 23: Qualifications – Men's Épée & Women's Sabre
July 24: Qualifications – Men's Sabre & Women's Foil
July 25: Individual Finals – Men's Foil & Women's Épée
July 26: Individual Finals – Men's Épée & Women's Sabre
July 27: Individual Finals – Men's Sabre & Women's Foil
July 28: Team Events – Men's Foil & Women's Épée
July 29: Team Events – Men's Épée & Women's Sabre
July 30: Team Events – Men's Sabre & Women's Foil
Fans in India can watch all matches live via the official FIE streaming platform at FencingTV.com or tune in to the FIE Fencing Channel on YouTube for live video feeds, match replays, and highlights. Real-time scores, pools, and live bracket updates can be followed online at Fencing Time Live.
--IANS
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