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Meet CA Bhavani Devi, the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics
CA Bhavani Devi
CA Bhavani Devi | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Gowri S
31 MARCH 2021 15:50 IST
UPDATED: 31 MARCH 2021 20:00 IST

The first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, CA Bhavani Devi from Chennai, discusses her 17-year journey as she focusses on Tokyo

In 2004, a shy 11-year-old girl walked into Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the first time, tightly clutching her mother’s hand. A new student at Muruga Dhanushkodi Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Tondiarpet, CA Bhavani Devi had just learnt the term ‘fencing’ as part of the ‘Sports in Schools’ initiative started by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Vishwanathan P, who would soon be her first coach, looked on from the parapet, and put the little girl to a 30-second test. “I don’t remember what the test was! But right then, I knew she had the talent,” laughs Vishwanathan. In 30 seconds, she secured a spot in the school’s fencing classes, among 40 other girls.

Cut to March 15, 2021 in Budapest, Bhavani, now 27, made history by being the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics. In July, she will represent India at the Tokyo Olympic games.