“Chase your dreams and dreams do come true” – an overjoyed Bhavani Devi wrote on social media after she turned the first fencer from India to guide an Olympic ticket.
The sabre fencer, who hails from Chennai, certified for the occasion throughout the World Cups in Hungary after the hosts confronted a defeat within the quarterfinals, which finally assisted in Bhavani making the reduce to Tokyo Games.
However, the 27-year-old’s journey witnessed a collection of struggles particularly throughout her preliminary years, and now she is full of confidence to give her finest on the showpiece occasion, scheduled to happen in July-August this yr.
Introduction to fencing
“I picked the sport back in 2004 and my journey started with a defeat in my debut. Everyone else from my team won a medal except for me and this was something that really motivated me to put in my best efforts,” Bhavani stated, throughout a digital press-meet on Wednesday.
Adding extra insights on her introduction to fencing, Bhavani stated that it was the one possibility as she was eager on becoming a member of sports activities slightly than sitting in school. However, the college the place she studied had solely 5 sports activities of their curriculum, out of which 4 had been already crammed leaving fencing as the one possibility for her.
Congratulations @IamBhavaniDevi on your trailblazing qualification for @Tokyo2020 Olympics! A proud first for Team India and Fencing Association of India #Fencing
Truly particular @KirenRijiju @WeAreTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/DqE11TgboE
— rajeev mehta (@rajeevmehtaioa) March 14, 2021
The Big Money Factor & early expertise
Finance was one other issue that Bhavani and her household had to take care of, contemplating the heavy cash the game requires.
On her first coaching session, Bhavani was requested a slightly unwelcoming query about her father’s earnings, which she had to lie about then.
“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 stated.
“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 practice 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.”
Bhavani, who is also the first Indian to win a world match on this self-discipline, feels that it was very ruthless originally, particularly with her being the one member of the Indian contingent.
However, she felt extra welcome when the information of her Olympic qualification broke, and opposition groups got here and congratulated her.
“India’s fencing was not looked upon very highly in foreign countries, especially with me being the single member to represent the country without any coach. However, things are changing and the day I qualified for Tokyo, many participants came and congratulated me.”
The 27-year-old additionally feels that the game could make speedy progress whether it is launched in each college throughout the nation.
Meanwhile, Bhavani’s mom, Ramani, who was additionally part of the digital meet, shared her fears about her daughter’s security, particularly concerning her touring alone to varied international locations for taking part in tournaments.
“Our relatives, neighbours would always ask if it was safe for her to travel alone. I was also very apprehensive initially. She was so young. But Bhavani has amazing strength and a blazing desire to excel,” a proud Ramani stated in Tamil.
Lockdown positive factors and losses
The Sabre fencer, who was in Italy when the pandemic struck, phrases it as some of the irritating moments. But she is grateful to the authorities who helped her get again to India earlier than worldwide borders had been shut.
Bhavani, who was but to qualify for the Olympics then, was left in a tizzy as she was in contact with her Italian coach Nicola Zanotti over mails and video recordings.
Adding to it was the dearth of companions for her to apply with, so Bhavani got here up with a novel approach of coaching, but it surely didn’t pay a lot dividends.
“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.”
The speculations of the Olympics getting canceled additionally was one other setback for the 27-year-old, however the information of postponement got here as a aid.
“I used to be very unhappy when speculations rose concerning the Olympics getting canceled. I used to be but to qualify, however I used to be in nice type and I used to be getting ready for the occasion. However, I had a perception that it received’t be canceled and when the information was introduced that it has been postponed, I felt very relieved.
“I took assist from remedy periods, practiced yoga. It was additionally good that I used to be with my household and it was so much simpler discussing issues with my mother and father,” she added.
The yesteryears and Tokyo plan
A assured Bhavani additionally asserted that she had no doubts about selecting up fencing, regardless of it not being highly regarded within the nation. The 27-year-old additionally highlighted the efforts she invested so as to fulfill her Olympic dream.
“I by no means had any doubt about my choice concerning this sport whether or not I had good outcomes or dangerous, I gave my finest. I all the time tried to enhance myself and do higher in competitions. Because fencing in India is a brand new sport, it is creating now, in Italy or another nation they’re taking part in for greater than 100 years. So, for us to arrive at that degree we now have to work double than different superior international locations.”
“So, I always worked very hard like I would do three sessions or train on Saturdays that’s why I was able to arrive here. If I had missed something in training I wouldn’t have been here and the support from others because we had to spend more money on fencing as I had to compete in many competitions to get more points,” Bhavani stated.
“I want to give my best performance in the Olympics. I don’t put any limit on my achievement; I want to enjoy everything and every process that I’m going to do from now till the Olympics. I want to give the best performance in front of the whole world and want to make my country proud,” she concluded.
