Kanniyakumari boy Bibish helps India bag maiden podium finish at BRICS Games

CHENNAI: The four-member Indian fencing team, which included Kanniyakumari’s own Bibish K, made history by winning the bronze medal in the team foil event during the final leg of the BRICS 2024 Games in Kazan, Russia.

This is a momentous achievement, as it marks the first time an Indian men's foil fencing team has achieved a podium finish at the BRICS tournament. The other members of the team were Dev (Haryana), Akash Kumar (Bihar), and Tushar Aher (Maharashtra).

India started strong by defeating Iran 45-36 in its first bout and then faced the home team, Russia, which was the favourites in the semi-final. They lost 20-45, but bounced back in the bronze medal match against Uzbekistan, winning it 45-39.

While Bibish had previously won gold and bronze at the Junior Commonwealth Fencing Championships in Newcastle in 2018, the victory in Kazan marks his first senior international medal. Speaking to DT Next, Bibish said that the medal was a long time coming and he's finally happy to have achieved it.

A former student of the Namakkal SDAT sports hostel, Bibish now serves in the Indian Army. He is expected to return to Tamil Nadu in the coming days and will begin training for the upcoming men's foil satellite World Cup scheduled to be held in September in Singapore.