En Garde! India’s master fencer, CA Bhavani Devi’s Biography

From putting a name to a faceless sport to becoming the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, CA Bhavani Devi has many laurels to her name. At just 28 years old, she has collected several accolades and medals and qualified for the recently concluded Sumer Olympics in Tokyo.

Bhavani took to the sport at a very early stage in life – she was just 11 years old when she was introduced to the sport. Since then she has never looked back and has instead climbed the ladder the success, raking in medals left and right. Below is CA Bhavani Devi’s biography for a more detailed read about the maverick swordswoman.

CA Bhavani Devi Biography

Full Name –	Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi
Date of Birth –	27-Aug-93
Birthplace –	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Father –	C Anandha Sundararaman
Mother –	CA Ramani
Occupation –	Fencer (Sabre)

Academics

• She attended Muruga Dhanushkodi Girls Higher Secondary, Chennai
• She then joined St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, Chennai
• Graduated from Government Brennen College, Kerala with a degree in Business Administration

Career

• She picked up fencing as a sport early on, at the age of 11
• After completing class 10, she joined the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Thalassery, Kerala
• When she was 14, she made her first international appearance at a tournament in Turkey

Achievements

• Won the bronze medal at the 2009 Commonwealth Championship in Malaysia
• Won bronze at two events in 2010 – Cadet Asian Championship, Philippines, and the International Open in Thailand
• She won her first gold at the 2012 Commonwealth Championship in Jersey
• Followed it with another gold at 2014, Tuscany Cup, Italy
• Bhavani became the first Indian to grab silver at the 2014 Asian Championship in the Philippines for the Under-23 category
• Two more bronze medals followed at the 2015 Under-23 Asian Championship, Mongolia, and the 2015 Flemish open
• In 2017, CA Bhavani Devi broke another record, becoming the first Indian to win gold at an international fencing event – the Tournoi Satellite Fencing Championship at Reykjavik, Iceland

She repeated her impressive performance the very next year, winning silver in the sabre category in the 2018 edition of the same championship