Olympic Qualifier in Fencing & KIIT Student CA Bhavani Devi Felicitated at KIIT & KISS

KIIT & KISS fraternity felicitated CA Bhavani Devi, a KIIT student, who qualified for Tokyo Olympics 2021 in Fencing. She has earned the distinction of becoming the first-ever Indian to qualify for the Olympics in Fencing. Bhavani, who hails from Tamil Nadu, reached Bhubaneswar this morning along with her mother and coach from Italy. They were given a rousing welcome at Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneswar.   

A felicitation ceremony for the ace fencer was organized at KIIT-DU in the presence of distinguished personalities like Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS; Mr. Bashir A. Khan, General Secretary, Fencing Association of India; Mr. Debendra Sahoo, Secretary, Odisha Fencing Association; Noted Environmentalist & ‘Green Man’, Dr. Abdul Ghani; Sprint queen Dutee Chand; Prof. Hrushikesha Mohanty, VC, KIIT-DU, and Prof. Sasmita Samanta, Pro VC.

In her speech Bhavani said, “KIIT is lucky for me. I qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after enrolling in KIIT. Since childhood, I have been dreaming of participating in the Olympics. I faced a lot of struggles and adversities to pursue my dream”, she said at the ceremony. She bestows all the credit for her success to her parents and coaches who have been with her since childhood. She asserts that Dutee Chand has been her source of inspiration behind qualifying for the Olympics. “Not for me only, Dutee has been a role model for thousands of budding athletes and sportspersons in India”, she added.

Congratulating Bhavani, Dr. Achyuta Samanta said, “Apart from education, KIIT & KISS have given the emphasis on the promotion of sports and sportspersons. In fact, KIIT & KISS premises has the largest state-of-the-art sports and games infrastructure located in an educational institution across the globe. So far, the two institutions have produced about 5000 talented players”. Dr. Samanta hoped that Dutee and Bhavani would definitely win medals in the forthcoming Olympics. 

Among others, Bhavani’s mother CA Ramani; KIIT Sports Director, Dr. Gaganendu Dash, Registrar, Prof. Jnyana Ranjan Mohanty, and many senior functionaries were present on the occasion