The 27-year-old Bhavani, the first fencer from the country to qualify for Olympics lost 7-15 to Rio Olympic semifinalist Manon Brunet at the Makuhari Messe Hall.
Despite her loss, Bhavani made history when she won India's first fencing match on Sunday. She began her campaign with a superb 15-3 win against Tunisia’s Nadia Ben Azizi in the opening round.
In her clash against Brunet, Bhavani was left playing catch up throughout the match as world championships silver medallist used all her experience to negate the tactics of the Indian.