Bhavani Devi makes use of her sword and Dravid’s mentorship to chart street to Tokyo

When a younger Bhavani Devi’s college in Tamil Nadu launched fencing as an exercise, it was one in all 5 sports activities that college students may select from. The seniors within the college got here to divide the scholars into teams and get them began on these sports activities. By the time Bhavani’s flip got here, the opposite 4 disciplines had been full and there was a vacant slot in just one sport. Fencing it could be for her.
Years later, the 27-year-old has certified for the Tokyo Olympics and is ready to participate within the sabre class of the fencing occasion. Her ticket to Tokyo was printed when South Korea beat Hungary within the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Budapest final Sunday that allowed Bhavani to take the second qualification spot from Asia.
Now {that a} spot in India’s Olympic marketing campaign is hers, Bhavani seems to be again at her preliminary years in fencing and the way she was dealt harsh classes on cash and the price of chasing one’s goals from a really younger age.
“When I joined this sport, the first question they asked students was, ‘How much is your father’s annual income?’ They said fencing is a very expensive sport and one couldn’t afford it if they came from a poor family. At that point, I lied about how much my father was earning in those days,” Bhavani advised reporters on a Zoom name.
“It was only later that I understood why that teacher had asked us that question. The swords and the equipment were very expensive. In the beginning, we would practise with bamboo sticks and use our swords in competition only. This was because if we broke the swords, we couldn’t afford to buy them and that process wasn’t easy either because it had to be imported.”
The Dravid issue
And whereas her preliminary years within the sport witnessed a continuing battle to search out sponsors and fund her travels, fixed tools adjustments and training, loads of these troubles subsided when acquired sponsored by the GoSports programme – particularly, the Rahul Dravid Mentorship Programme.
It was Dravid who challenged the GoSports crew to select up sports activities which weren’t mainstream, and had extra women taking part in in addition to dominating on the nationwide stage. GoSports would find yourself choosing up gymnast Dipa Karmakar and Bhavani as a part of that mentorship programme.

Bhavani Devi creates historical past by changing into the primary Indian Fencer to qualify for the Olympics.
She trains below Mr. Nicola Zanotti in Italy and has been supported by the inspiration since 2015. Along with the help of the State and National federation she has modified the script pic.twitter.com/8noEFOUOro
— GoSports Foundation (@GoSportsVoices) March 14, 2021
The query of cash can be one that might hover over Bhavani’s household for years. But it wasn’t the one problem. Fencing in India has all the time been a lonely sport for her. With no compatriot competing on the worldwide stage like her, Devi has needed to journey the world on her personal.
Be it competitions or coaching camps – if the query on the place the cash was going to return from was answered, considerations in regards to the well-being of their little one would all the time be within the minds of Bhavani’s mother and father.
“The first 10 years were a real struggle. As a mother, the safety of my daughter was a worry. As a young student of the game, Bhavani was travelling to different countries and taking part in different competitions. Our neighbours and family members would ask us why we were sending our daughter to different countries, especially if the Olympics was such a far-off prospect,” recalled Ramani Devi, Bhavani’s mom.
Growing stronger in lockdown
Now that the Tokyo Olympics are a number of months away and the worry of cancellation from final yr that Devi went by has been changed by a way of anticipation after her qualification, the arduous work restarts. The lockdown that compelled athletes all over the world to remain indoors hampered invaluable progress made.
But in Bhavani’s case, the interval of lockdown was when she may proceed to deal with the technical elements of her recreation and preserve a gradual stage of health whereas recovering from previous accidents.
“During the lockdown, my priority was maintaining the same form and keeping up my fitness levels. We tried to improve some technical skills with the sabre as well as my footwork. But I didn’t have partners during the period and had to work with dummies. We tried to do our best to improve but I was good at maintaining my form and fitness level. I also recovered from a back injury which I had a few months before lockdown.”