CA Bhavani Devi, is the first Indian fencer to ever qualify for the Olympics after qualifying for the 2021 Tokyo Games.She is supported by GoSports Foundation through the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme.
Personal details
Birth name : Bhavani Devi
Full name : Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi.
Sport : Fencing
Date of Birth : 27 August 1993
Age : 28
Parents : CA Ramani and C Anandha Sundhararaman
Born in : Chennai
Father’s Occupation : Priest
Mother’s Occupation : Home maker
Siblings : 4(two elder brothers and two elder sisters)
Education : BBA from Government Brennen College, Thalassery in Kerala
MBA from St Joseph’s Engineering College in Chennai
Timeline
Bhavani Devi took part in the Junior Nationals in 2007 at Amravati in Maharashtra, where her fencing talent was spotted by national coach Sagar Lagu. Upon the coach’s request, she moved to the SAI center in Thalassery, Kerala. In 2008, Bhavani won her first national Gold medal in U-17 Junior Nationals.
In 2010, she was crowned as National Champion for the first time at the Senior National Open Fencing Championships. Between 2011-2018, she emerged as National Champion seven times during that period. Later in 2010, she won her first international individual medal by winning the Bronze at the International Open in Thailand.
In 2014, Bhavani made her international debut in Turkey. That year, she won her first international Gold medal at the Tuscany Cup in Italy.
In 2017, prior to winning the historic World Cup Gold medal, she achieved the feat of becoming the 1st Indian fencer to win the Gold medal in an international fencing event at the Tournoi Satellite Fencing Championship Reykjavik in Iceland. A year later, she won the Silver medal at the same tournament.
In 2019, she became the first Indian fencer to break into Top-50 by ranking 42nd in the world.
Major Achievements
Bhavani Devi won her first international medal in 2009 when she won the Bronze medal in Sabre Women’s Team event at the Junior Commonwealth Fencing Championships held in Malaysia. A year later, she won the Bronze in Sabre Team event at the Asian Cadet Fencing Championships in the Philippines.
At the 2012 Commonwealth Fencing Championships, she won the Silver medal in Sabre Women’s Team, followed by the Bronze in Sabre Individual at Jersey in the USA. In 2014, she became the first Indian fencer to win a medal at the U-23 Asian Fencing Championships when she won the Silver medal in Sabre Individual held in the Philippines.
