Fencing in Madras: An ’80s movement that remains strong, thanks to Bhavani Devi’s Olympic debut

A quiet Chennai movement that began in the 1980s swells with students inspired by CA Bhavani Devi from Old Washermanpet, the first Indian fencer to participate in the Olympic Games

Sword in hand, armour fastened, helmet on: a boisterous group of teenagers gets into fencing gear at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium. Ever since the lockdown eased, this group resumed training here: gathering every morning and evening, as well as in between online classes, to practise at the stadium’s ashy Fencing Hall. Now that Tamil Nadu’s — more specifically, Old Washermanpet’s — CA Bhavani Devi has taken Indian fencing to the global stage as the first Indian fencer to participate in the Olympics, the pressure on these young fencers from Chennai has skyrocketed.