Bhavani Devi is the cynosure of Indian sports at this point in time and the 27-year-old is enjoying every moment of attention and adulation.

On Sunday, Bhavani became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics and since then she is grabbing the headlines.

“Yes it feels nice,” she said from her base in Livorno, Italy, (she is expected to reach India on Friday to participate in the fencing Nationals in Uttarakhand) during a virtual media conference organised by the GoSports Foundation, her support team, on Wednesday. Her mother, Ramani, was also present from Chennai.

Bhavani, who participates in the sabre, the fastest of the sword events, said she went through a gamut of emotions after securing the Tokyo berth. “The first tournament I had participated in way back in 2004, I was the only fencer among my schoolmates who didn’t win a medal.

“That pushed me to win as many medals as possible in the future... The Rio Olympics setback when I couldn’t qualify... The ups and downs in my professional career. The support my parents gave from the day I decided to take up fencing as a career... “When I was asked about my father’s annual income since I was told ‘fencing is a very expensive sport, you won’t be able to afford it if you come from a poor family’. But I lied and said something more than what my father earned... Everything went past me like a flash,” she said.

Her mother spoke about how worried she used to be when her young daughter was travelling around the world alone playing tournaments.

“Our relatives, neighbours would always ask if it was safe for her to travel alone. I was also very apprehensive initially. She was so young. But Bhavani has amazing strength and a blazing desire to excel,” a proud Ramani said in Tamil.

Bhavani said during her initial days, international fencers would ask her why she was the only Indian competing. “There was not much respect. But as my performance improved I started getting the respect from fellow international fencers. On Sunday, after the Tokyo berth, everyone came up and congratulated me. That was very satisfying.”

History created, Bhavani wants to be at her best in Tokyo. “I just want to concentrate on my game. I want to make my country proud.”