Indian fencer C.A. Bhavani Devi recently rang in her 30th birthday. Birthdays for the Olympian usually either mean being home with her parents and getting pampered by a mother who only gets a few days in a year with her daughter, or being on the road competing.
This year, it was a quiet affair in Bhavani’s apartment in Orleans, France, where she is currently training.
The solitude is not unfamiliar to the sabre fencer who has spent much of her career as one of, or the only Indian, in the competition list. For years, Bhavani carried the mantle of Indian fencing, a tireless effort which saw her become the first Indian ever to represent India in the discipline at the Olympics, in Tokyo. Her ambition has taken her to Europe to train, first in Italy under Nicola Zanetti and then in France, soon after, under Christian Bauer.
