Bhavani Devi sets sights on Asian Games armed with learnings from Tokyo Olympics

India’s top fencer CA Bhavani Devi is looking forward to the new fencing season with renewed vigor. Bhavani Devi stormed into the record books when she became India’s first fencer to qualify for the Olympics.

Bhavani Devi made heads turn at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. She was at her aggressive best in her first match and beat Tunisia’s Nadia Ben Azizi. She couldn't keep up the same momentum in the second round against France’s Manon Brunet in the second round and bowed out of Tokyo.

Bhavani Devi received plaudits for her performance and grit. It was a watershed moment for Indian fencing at the Tokyo Olympics 2021.

The fencer is looking forward to the 2021-22 season with the aim of breaking into the the top fencing athletes' group in the world.

Bhavani Devi said her biggest takeaway from the Tokyo Olympics is how she understood hard work pays off. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, she said:

“The work I have done for the past few years and the target, especially over the last 15 years, was to represent India at the Olympics and I am happy that it happened in Tokyo. I learnt that when you work hard to achieve something, and you are honest with that, you will get there.”

Not willing to drop her guard down, Bhavani Devi has set sights on the Asian Games in the packed season ahead. She explained:

“Our next season starts in October and we have the Asian Championship, a couple of other championships, the Asian Games next year and more. My focus will be to do well at the Asian Games. Most of our competitors remain the same over the course of tournaments and the experience of playing against some of them at the Olympics will hold me in good stead for another big stage such as the Asian Games.”

Bhavani Devi looking to be an all-round player

Bhavani Devi has always been an aggressive player on the attack when compared to defense and the Tamil Nadu player is working hard to shed that image and become more proficient in defense as well.

The sabre fencer has been putting in the hard yards to make sure that she is in a better mental shape than what she was in the past. She said the right mix of game, strategy and the mental aspect is necessary to beat the best players in fencing.

Taking the example of how she lost to France’s Manon Brunet in the second round at the Tokyo Olympics, Bhavani Devi said:

“I'm very good in attack and I have also improved in my defense in the last few months. Brunet is an aggressive player and she's very strong, technically. She wasn’t as aggressive as she deemed to be but her game is more technical. She moves well in that aspect. So, I need to work better than having the right technical mix and use the correct strategy against her. Fencing is more mental than the right strategies you use and that is what helps you beat athletes.”

She continued:

“I watched my match and I realized that I wasn’t attacking her as much as I would have loved to. She knew I was good in attack and she didn't let me play my game by blocking me in my attempt to attack. So, what I had to do was to break that momentum and continue with my game plan.”

Bhavani Devi has a single-point agenda going into next season. She said:

“If I can be good in my technique and if I use the right strategy, with the right mental strength, I can beat the top players.”