fencing

Born in a middle-class family in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Bhavani Devi was introduced to fencing at school but little did she know that an extracurricular activity would help her make history.

Not many of us would know much about a sport like fencing in India. A few others probably wouldn’t even have heard of it. For Bhavani Devi, the 22-year-old resident of Chennai who is India’s National Fencing Champion, it is more than a sport.

While most girls her age were busy playing with toys, Poorva Joshi took a rather unconventional approach to spending her weekends. She rigorously played four different sports and even became the holder of a Guinness Record in indoor skydiving.