New Delhi, Dec 24 (Agency) India’s first-ever Olympian fencer Bhavani Devi is set to compete in four international competitions in 2022 as the Sports Ministry on Friday sanctioned Rs 8.16 lakh to facilitate her participation in the events. As per the statement issued by the ministry, the amount was authorised through the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC). Bhavani, who won her first round individual sabre match before going down in the Round of 32 at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, will be taking part at a training camp in Tbilisi, Georgia on January 4 ahead of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) World Cup which is scheduled from January 14 to 16.
The fencer will then compete at the World Cup in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, scheduled from January 28 to 29. Bhavani, currently ranked 55 in the world in the individual women’s sabre category, will participate at the FIE World Cups in Greece and Belgium between March 4 to 5 and March 18 to 19, respectively. Earlier, the Sports Ministry had approved an ACTC amount of Rs 3 crores to the Fencing Association of India (FAI) for the financial year 2021-22, until March 2022.