Bhavani Devi felt a fleeting sense of fear when she slipped into her electric jacket in November last year. The Indian fencer had just returned to her training base - the Tuscan coastal city of Livorno -- after eight months. She'd been target training and working on footwork drills on the terrace of her north Chennai home and the JN Stadium through a large part of the year. What the only Indian fencer in Olympic contention missed was a living, breathing opponent with a sword and quick reflexes.
"Timing can suffer when you don't train for long with a sparring partner. I briefly wondered if I'd forgotten how to fence. But now, I feel a lot better and I'm settled into my routine," Bhavani tells ESPN. Part of her routine also involves carrying a copy of the autodichiariazione or self-declaration form issued by the Italian Ministry of Interior, on her person six days a week when she cycles to coach Nicola Zanotti's academy less than five kilometres away from her apartment. Cops can demand the form at any point on the streets to ascertain one's reason for commute.
Ranked 45 in the world among women sabre fencers, Bhavani has two competitions -- Sint-Niklaas women's sabre World Cup in Belgium tentatively in March, followed by the Asian Zonal Olympic qualifier in Seoul. Her likeliest path to Tokyo Olympic qualification, however, appears to be through the Adjusted Official Rankings (AOR), which will be based on standings released on April 5. Of the 34 available sabre slots at the Olympics, 24 will be decided through team rankings, six via AOR and four from continental qualifiers. In AOR, two spots are available from Asia and even if Japan claims its host nation slot, Bhavani should be able to pick up the second. It will make her the first-ever Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics.
The 27-year-old managed to fly back to India in March just when cases were surging exponentially in Italy, initially one of the worst-affected countries, and the world was shutting down. Endless visa issues stalled her return to Livorno for months, until she managed to fly back in November last year. It wasn't without drama. Her original flight was scheduled via London and she was stopped right before boarding. "I was told Indian passport holders aren't being allowed to fly to the UK. I called my agent but he didn't have an idea. I went back home and booked another ticket." Three days later, she flew to Italy via Frankfurt.
"Since it's a non-contact sport, fencing centres are allowed to function here," she says. "In other sports, I think it's largely elite athletes who have access to full-fledged training at this point. Of course, even at our academy there are restrictions. The locker rooms and bathrooms are closed. There's just one common toilet that we can use and no showering or leaving behind our kit bags is allowed. So, every day we have to carry our equipment and jacket to the academy and back. When we're not fencing, we have to sit with our masks on in chairs marked at a distance from one another."
Coronavirus protocols are constantly changing in Italy, with regions in the country sliding in and out of yellow (moderate risk), orange (elevated risk) and red zone (maximum risk) classification with differing rules for each, depending on the severity of the contagion. Through the holiday week between Christmas and New Year, the entire country was placed under the 'red zone' and now Livorno, Bhavani says, is largely in the orange zone. There are restrictions on travelling out of the region and only takeaway services are available in restaurants and coffee shops.
"Honestly, my life in Italy hasn't changed much from what it was before the virus. My days have always been divided between academy and home. I've barely travelled outside Livorno to other parts. Earlier, I used to get yelled at by my coach often for not going sightseeing in the country. I'd visit the supermarket, get groceries, cook for myself and go for training. Now too, it's the same. I guess I've always been living the lockdown life. As long as I can train, I really can't ask for more."