Every Indian must be proud of this sabre fencer who is taking nation to new heights...!
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New Delhi, September 30: India is not only achivieng milestones in cricket, hockey, football, badminton, tennis, wrestling, athletics; but conquering all types of sports one by one. Fencing is a different kind of game believed to have been originated in Spain. This game is an integral part of olympics. It is played like warriors fighting with sword. Sabre is one of the three deciplines of modern fencing.
India is emrging in this kind of sport in recent years. This small write-up brings to light the spectacular career of Bhavani Devi, India’s veteran sabre fencer who just clinched the silver medal in the women’s sabre individual category in the World Tournoi satellite competition at Ghent, Belgium.
Bhavani was born into a middle-class family. Her father was a priest and her mother a homemaker. She started her sports career in 2003. She did her schooling at Muruga Dhanushkodi girls higher secondary, Chennai. In 2004, she was introduced to fencing at school level.
After finishing class 10, Bhvani joined the Indian fencing coach Sagar Lagu SAI (Sports Authority of India) Centre in Thalassery, Kerala. At the age of 14 she appeared at her first international tournament in Turkey, where she got black card for being late by three minutes.
Bhavani took training in Portland, USA where she accredit training with coach Edward Korfanty and also her coach back in India Sagar lagu. She used to talk over Skype about each training session and the coach would correct her mistakes.
In 2010 Asian Championship in the Philippines, Bhavani bagged Bronze medal. Starting from the Bronze medal at 2009 CommonWealth Championship held in Malaysia, Bhavani Devi has won Bronze medals in 2010 International Open, Thailand; 2010 Cadet Asian Championship, Philippines; 2012 Common Wealth Championship, Jersey; 2015 Under-23 Asian Championship, Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar and 2015 Flemish Open. In 2014 Asian Championship under 23 category in the Philippines she bagged the Silver medal becoming the first Indian to do so. After her successful 2014 Asian Championship, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa honored her with Rs. three lakh as financial aid for training in the US. In 2015, she became one of the 15 athletes selected 'Go Sports Foundation' for Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme.
Bhavani Devi has received 2 Gold Medals, one each at the 2012 CommonWealth Championship, Jersey and the 2014 Tuscany Cup, Italy. She finished fifth in the Viking Cup 2016 Icelandic International Sabre Tournaments held at Reykjavik and is a prospective candidate for fencing from India at the 2020 Olympics. She’s currently ranked No. 43 in the senior women’s sabre individual category.
Bhavani has another eight upcoming competitions - World Cup, Grand Prix and satellite events - lined up until the end of March that will be considered for Olympic qualification. The top two players from the Asian zone in the World rankings will qualify for the 2020 Olympics to be held in Tokyo, Japan. Nations wishes her best luck for all her further adventures!