Matt Roseby; 14th April
The Bachelor of Arts student competed in the women’s foil category and, earlier this month, finished second in the Junior Foil Division at the Australian Fencing Championships to claim a tied first national ranking. After upsetting several established competitors, Mayuri went on to claim second place again, this time in the Women’s Senior Foil Division, improving to a second national rank in the category.
“When I started in the sport, I did not think I would be fencing on the national senior team even though I had great success when I was really young. I won the Under 9 national championships the same year I started fencing and later won my first open national tournament at 14, becoming one of the youngest fencers to do so. It was then, that I realised I could probably go really far with my fencing”.
Despite her young age, Muralidharan has repeatedly proved herself on the big stage. She took gold in 2017 at the Under 13 Division at the Phuket Foil Challenge and gold in 2017 at the Under 13 Division at the Phuket Foil Challenge, she also took home silver in the same competition’s Open Division. A year later, at just 14, Mayuri finished 24th in the 2018 Asian Under-23 competition in Manila.
Fencing is a very old traditional and prestigious Olympic sport that is a challenge to both body and mind. Based on sword fighting, fencing demands speed, anticipation, reflexes and great mental strength.
As an avid chess player and keen swimmer, it was Mayuri’s mother who first introduced her to competitive fencing. Combining a love for strategy and fitness the similarities between fencing and chess appealed to the young athlete.
“Fencing is like the most intense game of chess you will ever play” explained Muralidharan. “It gets compared to chess a lot because of how important strategy is to the game. The tactical aspect of fencing makes it interesting to watch and is why it is an Olympic sport. However, most spectators will completely miss the strategic part of fencing because it's so subtle”.
Edging ever closer to her raison d’etre of selection to the Australian Olympic Team, Mayuri reflected on what it would it mean to compete at the sport’s highest level, and what might lie ahead for her fencing career.
“My dream is to compete in the Olympics and to win a medal for Australia. Australia has never won a medal in Fencing at the Olympics, and I would like to be the first. I think I will continue fencing for a while. I don’t have any plans to retire and while this isn’t my career, I want to take my fencing as far as a I can”.
Mayuri who is a part of the Elite Athlete Program run by Melbourne University Sport will be competing in the Junior Cadet World Championship in Bulgaria this month as she continues her Olympic Selection Campaign ahead of Paris 2024 and Brisbane 2028.