Keypoints:
- After being qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, Devi will compete in the Sabre category in Tokyo 2021.
- Bhavani Devi qualified through the Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR) Method.
- The eight-time national champion had failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics. She then stepped up to secure qualification in the Olympics and continued to train in Italy.
- SAI coach Sagar Lagu, who trained Bhavani Devi credited her hard work and dedication
Bhavani Devi, the first even Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics and on Sunday, she secured an Olympic spot due to events in the ongoing Fencing World Cup.
Based on the world rankings as of April 5,2021, two individual spots were up for the grabs for Asia and Oceania region. Bhavani Devi’s qualification will be confirmed when the rankings are made official next month.
Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju congratulated Bhavani Devi on her qualifying for the Olympics. “Congratulations to Indian fencer Bhavani Devi who has qualified for Tokyo Olympics! She has become the 1st ever Indian fencer to achieve the feat. My best wishes to @IamBhavaniDevi,” he tweeted.
Congratulations to Indian fencer Bhavani Devi who has qualified for Tokyo Olympics! She has become the 1st ever Indian fencer to achieve the feat. My best wished to @IamBhavaniDevi pic.twitter.com/NFGJzuB4Dx
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) March 14, 2021
“It’s been my dream. I have been working hard for the last five years for this. My special thanks to my (late) father and mother for believing in me.I take this opportunity to thank my sponsors, Fencing Association of India and the media. Though I lost early in the round of 96 at the World Cup in Budapest, I was able to maintain the points I got in the World Championship last year.By remaining in the top-2 in Asia by virtue of my points, I was able to make the cut for Tokyo.”
SAI coach Sagar Lagu is the person who trained Bhavani Devi at the SAI centre in Thalassery, Kerala from 2008 to 2015, said that she had qualified due to her hard work and dedication. “I am delighted for her. She was trying to qualify for the Olympics from 2012. This is the first time any Indian fencer has qualified for the Olympics,” he said.
“It is due to her hard work and dedication that she has secured qualification for the Tokyo Games,” Lagu added.
