Fencer Bhavani Devi qualifies for Olympics

CA Bhavani Devi’s life has come a long way, from nearly giving up fencing to becoming the first Indian fencer to make it to the Olympics.

Bhavani, who picked up fencing as a way to pass the time in school, qualified for the individual sabre competition by using the Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR) Method. This was because COVID-19 rules prevented her from competing in the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifying event.

But in 2016, Bhavani, a 27-year-old temple priest’s daughter from Chennai, almost gave up the sport because she couldn’t afford the expensive expenses associated with participating in a little-known activity in India. When you consider the cost of the blade and the technological equipment, a high-quality fencing costume alone may run into the several thousands, which was too much for their limited funds and the support she received from the Tamil Nadu government. For her, a sponsorship from GoSports Foundation was a blessing.

Her family has incurred large expenses. Even with the assistance of a number of businesspeople, Bhavani found it challenging to set up everything.

“GoSports Foundation selected me under their scholarship scheme called Rahul Dravid Mentorship Programme. When I went for the interview, I never thought I would get the scholarship because fencing was not a popular sport. I decided that if I didn’t get the scholarship, I would stay back home [in Chennai] and stop fencing,” said Bhavani during a media interaction recently as she recalled the hardships she and her family faced in pursuit of her passion.