Bhavani Devi: The fencer making history for India

(July 26, 2023) Bhavani Devi, an accomplished Indian fencer, has achieved many significant milestones in her career. Continuing her journey of firsts, she made history in June 2023, by becoming the first Indian fencer to win a medal at the Asian Fencing Championships held in China. Earlier, Bhavani had the distinction of being the first fencer to represent India at the 2020 Olympics, a proud moment for the nation.

Hers has been a journey of firsts – in 2018, she became the first Indian to secure a gold medal at the Senior Commonwealth Fencing Championship in Australia. She’s also the first Indian fencer to claim gold in an individual sabre category at Iceland in 2017, and to win a gold at Satellite World Cup. In 2014, she became the first Indian to bag a silver in the U-23 category of Asian Championships. Bhavani is also the first-ever Indian fencer to achieve a Top 16 rank at the FIE World Championship. “The sport itself is an inspiration. It gives me happiness and motivates me to be better every day,” remarked the ace fencer. 

Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi is addressed as Bhavani Devi by her fans

Stumbled in fencing and found a ground 

Her fencing journey began at school. When the Chennai girl had joined a new government school as student of class six, the sports teacher announced that four new sports were being introduced. “Six students were allowed to take up each sport and when my turn came, it was only fencing that was left and I took it. They never explained what it was and the next day I was very excited to see all the protective equipment and swords. It was very attractive,” she recalled. “Most people didn’t know that a sport named fencing existed in India. It was a very new sport, especially in Tamil Nadu. I was eager to try it,” she said. 

Fencing, a combat sport that revolves around sword fighting has three distinct disciplines – foil, the épée, and the sabre. Each discipline makes use of a distinct type of blade. Additionally, all the three disciplines adhere to their own set of rules and regulations. Bhavani found sabre to be ‘faster than the other two’ and started training in it. As she started excelling in the discipline, her passion for the sport grew significantly. 

Usually, fencers practice with electric fencing equipment but Bhavani’s first experience with the actual equipment came during her practice sessions for a national event. Prior to that, she had relied on bamboo sticks instead of using a proper sabre weapon, due to lack of resources. It was the period when she was receiving training at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. Until then unlike international players who had the advantage of practicing with electric swords at the indoor stadiums, Bhavani had got trained under the scorching sun of southern India.   

She had to attend the training sessions before and after school hours. Bhavani used to wake up very early in the morning to catch the only bus from Washermanpet that stopped in front of the stadium at Periyamet, train there and then rush to school. As soon as her school ended for the day, she had to again rush for the evening sessions. “I remember a few occasions when I walked alone for a few kilometres in the night after missing the only bus that had a pickup point near the stadium,” she said.  

International pursuits 

When Bhavani completed her senior secondary school, she enrolled at the Sports Authority of India Centre in Thalassery, Kerala. At the age of 15, the youngster participated in her inaugural international tournament – the Cadet and Junior World Fencing Championship in Turkey in 2007. 

 The financial burden of travel expenses and purchasing fencing equipment had posed significant challenges for Bhavani’s family. “I missed a lot of international events as my family couldn’t afford the travel expenses. Still, my mother was not ready to give up,” she says. To manage these costs, her mother had to resort to borrowing money from friends and family. Her father was a priest. 

Meeting goals  

Finally, the athlete found support of KIIT University and GoSports Foundation. This helped in addressing the financial constraints on her family.  

KIIT has a huge sports facility to support athletes. In 2015, GoSports Foundation selected her for the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme as one of the 15 deserving athletes from the country. The same year, Bhavani achieved remarkable feats, bringing pride to her country by securing bronze medals at both the under-23 Asian Championship held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and the Flemish Open in Belgium.  

Bhavani Devi

Her consecutive outstanding performances caught the attention of late J Jayalalitha who was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu then. Apart from providing some financial assistance, she gifted Bhavani a purse worth Rs 3 lakh. In her teens at that time, Bhavani cherished the purse as her most prized possession as it was the most valuable gift that she had ever received in her life. 

Multi-tasking along the way 

Even with her deep involvement in sports, Bhavani never overlooked her academic responsibilities. She successfully completed her bachelor’s degree in business administration at Government Brennen College in Thalassery, Kerala. Following that, she furthered her education by pursuing an MBA at St. Joseph’s Engineering College in Chennai. 

 Throughout her journey, Bhavani has achieved numerous successes, fuelling her passion to bring more laurels to her nation. With each accomplishment, her determination to excel further has grown stronger, and she eagerly looks forward to future tournaments as opportunities to fulfil her purpose of representing her country with pride and distinction. 

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