Bhavani Devi's most high-profile and public event took place on the Olympic piste at the Mukhari Messe Convention Center on Monday. Watched and followed by thousands of Indian sports fans. There is also a Sports Authority of India (SAI) center in Thalassery, Kerala, where Bhavani lived and trained for seven years.
It's literally a world away from the glittering sophistication of the Tokyo venue. A piste is a 14x2 rubber backed, electrically conductive material sports bar made with supportive padding and shock absorption properties. A hard cement floor doesn't cut it. In Thalassery, Piste is a paved half-basketball court and the venue is in the open air. This is how the fencers in India start before they even hit our screens and catch our eyes.
Bhavani stayed in Thalassery till 2015 and things did not change. In the all-girls residential facility, fencers train under the fierce tropical sun, in their kits and full face masks. During monsoons, they shift indoors to gymnastics halls. The residential centre, which currently houses 34 female fencing trainees, is banking on the Olympic debut of its most famous former apprentice and otherwise obscure sport's nationally televised moment in hopes of shining a spotlight on their plight.
However, no one is breathing.
Bhavani's foremost mentor in the game, Thalassery's fencing coach Sagar Lagoo, counts the challenges. "Playing an indoor sport, outside, is really hard," he says. “We train on a cement surface that is part of a basketball half court, without any shadows. It is a facility that has produced 41 international fencers and our center has been winning senior national fencing titles for over ten years. We are grateful to Sai for all the support he has given us over the years to maintain this training facility.”
Fencing is operated by footwork and lunges and reaching the cement surface can cause serious impacts to the lower back and knees. To reduce trauma, students at the center put themselves through pre-training strengthening exercises and typically wear silicone gel knee pads to help reduce pressure on the joints. “Earlier our girls had a lot of injuries because of the surface,” says Lagoo. "Many of them ended up with knee and ankle problems. We started using silicone knee pads later, but we need more stock so there's enough for everyone."
For coaches, it's doubly work. With heat and sweat, a heavy canvas coach jacket can feel like being stuck in a steamy shower. Two plastic chairs are used to balance the electronic scoring machine, which lights up at the touch of a blade on the target. “In fencing, unlike some other sports, one cannot coach by pulling up a chair, sitting in the shade and whistling. We have to be with the trainees, face to face with them for individual lessons. Arabian Sea Our facility So during the day, in the summer months, it's extremely humid. After four lessons in the sun in that jacket, I feel like I'll pass out from exhaustion."
Tools are also scarce and are often shared. A saber can cost between Rs 15000-20000 and a blade - which costs around Rs 9000 - can last for about a year or so. "It's weird how we managed at first. When we traveled to international tournaments, we often only had three masks and sabers for five fencers. I waited until the end of bouts to grab the mask and saber. and ran hand in hand to hand them over to the next trainee, who had a match. It took a lot of pleas with the referee and sometimes we were given cards."
In 2016, Thalassery Center was sanctioned an infrastructure fund of eight crores under the Khelo India scheme. In addition to fencing, the center provided training facilities in wrestling, gymnastics, athletics and volleyball and the funds were to be used for laying a synthetic athletic track and building a multipurpose indoor hall, with a wooden floor fencing area and There will be pistes. Much of this is still on paper.
“At that time we got the grant, but we did not have the required land,” says Lagoo. “Two years ago we entered into an MoU with Government Brennan College (where Bhavani studied) for seven and a half acres of land. The synthetic track is being laid but we are still waiting for the indoor hall to start work. Hopefully it will be established at least in the next two or three years. Maybe Bhavani will reach the Olympics and focus on her roots."