New Delhi, Sep 25: First Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, Bhavani Devi is looking to test her new techniques and strategies during the National Games and use them at the big-ticket events ahead.
The 29-year-old, who won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Fencing Championship last month, will be one of the attractions at the multi-sport event in Gujarat.
“I have changed my coach, my technique, my strategies, everything is changed now. We have more important events, like the Olympic qualification in April. So I need to work on my strategies. I have to apply them on all my opponents, both beginners and experienced ones and see how it works,” she said during a virtual interaction.
“Sabre is a very quick sport, you can’t take time in between touch, you can’t think and decide what you want to do in those milliseconds.
“So it is still a risk to try new techniques in National Games because it is like a show, everyone going to watch. So I need to perform well but at the same time, I need to do my work (new techniques) which can help me in bigger tournaments.” The Chennai-born Bhavani has parted ways with Italian coach Nicola Zanotti and is currently being coached by legendary French fencer Christian Bauer.
Bhavani said Indian fencers will need more international exposure to compete with the best in business.
“Right now fencing is in the developing stage, we definitely have a long way to reach a stage where we are able to give a tough fight to top fencers in the world,” she said.
“We are starting more domestic competitions so players can compete with fencers who have taken part in some international competitions. So they can understand their level and players who have taken part in international competition can also understand and can improve much better.
“We are developing, we are progressing in a good way. We just need more time. We are getting medals in some competitions but to reach the podium in the bigger competitions we need more exposure.” (PTI)
