CA Bhavani Devi, hailing from Tamil Nadu, qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games on Sunday, becoming the first-ever Indian fencer to do so. The sabre fencer secured a spot in the World Cup in Hungary after the hosts lost in the quarterfinals of the team event, paving the way for South Korea to the semi-final.

Bhavani, 27, qualified for the Olympics through the Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR) Method.

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Based on the World Rankings as of April 5, 2021, two individual spots were up for grabs for the Asia and Oceania region and Bhavani ranked 45th, occupying one of the two available slots. Her qualification will be confirmed after the rankings will be made official on April 5. 

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,” Kiren Rijiju said in a tweet.

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The eight-time national champion had failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics.

In a stepped-up effort, Bhavani was getting trained under coach Nicola Zanotti in Italy before the coronavirus-induced lockdown halted the qualification process for Tokyo Olympics. The Games were scheduled to be held last year in Tokyo but was postponed owing to the pandemic. 

The Tokyo Olympics is due to start from July 23 this year and will go on till August 8.