Bhavani Devi scripts history, becomes first Indian fencer to qualify for Olympics | More sports News – Times of India
Bhavani Devi qualifies through the Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR) Method.
It is a historic moment as @IamBhavaniDevi becomes the 1st ever fencer from India to qualify for the @Olympics in w… https://t.co/XX8fOcQh7D
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) 1615725062000
Two individual spots were up for grabs for the Asia and Oceania region based on the World Rankings as of April 5, 2021. She is ranked 45th and occupies one of the two available slots based on the ranking.
The 27-year-old’s qualification will be confirmed when the rankings are made official on the aforementioned date.
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 Ind… https://t.co/N9AzRu2I63
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) 1615724113000
The eight-time national champion had failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
However, she stepped up efforts to secure qualification for the Tokyo games and continued to train abroad in Italy under coach Nicola Zanotti before the COVID-19-induced shutdown halted the qualification process.
The Tokyo Olympics scheduled to be held in 2020 were put off owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and are scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8 this year.