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A day after achieving her life-long dream of qualifying for the Olympics, India's Bhavani Devi CA has posted a heartfelt message on her Twitter account, encouraging others to "chase their dreams".
On Sunday, the 27-year-old became the first fencer from India to qualify for the Olympic Games. The Indian secured her Tokyo berth by qualifying via the Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR) Method.
Two individual berths were up for grabs for the Asia and Oceania region based on the World Rankings of 5th April 2021. Bhavani Devi secured one of those based on her current ranking of No. 42.
In her message, Bhavani Devi asserted that her rollercoaster journey "was worth it".
"A moment to remember forever. A moment for which all the sacrifice, hard work, pain, obstacle, challenges, stress, ups and downs, joy and sorrow I went through was worth it," Bhavani Devi wrote in her message.
Bhavani Devi, who also thanked her parents and siblings in the note, went on to pay homage to her current coach Nicola Zanotti. She expressed deep gratitude to her formative coaches - Mr. Vishwanathan (Chennai) and Mr. Sagar Lagu (SAI Thalassery) - and her trainer, Mr. Sandile Sibeko, who recently passed away.
"I will do my best at Tokyo with all your support" - Bhavani Devi
Bhavani Devi, who is competing in the sabre fencing event, promised to do her best while representing India at the Tokyo Olympics later this year.
"I always wanted to give my best. I always wanted to try. I tried to the best of my abilities and today with the help of you all, I am here to represent our beloved country at the Olympics games in Tokyo 2021. I will do my best at Tokyo with all your support," Bhavani Devi added.
Bhavani Devi went on to thank the GoSports Foundation, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, the Sports Authority of India, Allstar Fencing, the Fencing Association of India, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board as well as all the individuals who helped her "in person and through crowdfunding".
