CHENNAI: “I don’t feel a big difference because of the virus. But as a precaution, I don’t go to crowded places. I generally only go to my training venue. I follow the hygiene instructions, clean my hands often.”
That’s a sample of CA Bhavani Devi’s life in coronavirus-hit Italy. For months, the fencer has been training there under coach Nicola Zanotti, something that she has carried on doing even after the outbreak spread to the country. Italy now has the second-highest number of coronavirus-related deaths after China (197) and the fourth-highest number of cases after China, South Korea and Iran (4,636).
But Bhavani has waited too long for her day in the sun to pack up and return home. She’s too close to her dream, months away from being the first Indian fencer ever to make the Olympics. However, the Chennai fencer said that the city that’s she’s based in — Livorno — is relatively unaffected. “It has had only one case. Most of the cases are in the northern part. Things are quite normal there,” she told this newspaper from Greece, where she was participating in the World Cup. She will travel back to Italy on Sunday.
Livorno may be relatively unaffected, but Bhavani is still witnessing how the fear of the virus is affecting the life of the people there. “The Italy government has announced the closure of schools till March 15,” she said. “Kids below eight cannot go for any training. In Livorno, only masks are not available. I have only visited one medical shop, though. In supermarkets, the supplies are still available. I heard that in the northern parts, supplies are a big problem.”
Bhavani still trains every day, as do her fellow fencers at Zanotti’s academy. But both she and her coach are keeping an eye on the progression of the virus and evaluating their options. “It does not distract me. I and my coach Nicola are aware of the situation. If anything prevents us from training here, we have the option of going to a different country. So far, no athlete has skipped training because of this, except for the kids. But we are training with only trainers and athletes present. No other people are allowed to stay here. And no handshakes are allowed.”
Bhavani is currently in Athens for the World Cup. She crashed out in the second round on Friday, and she’s not happy with her performance. “I did not start well with my league bouts, but I changed the situation in direct elimination and fenced better. I did my best to win the (second-round) match, but at the last two points, my timing was off.” Staying in a country severely affected by coronavirus is one thing, but Bhavani has to do a lot more than that. She has to keep travelling to competitions across the world. Later this month, she plans to go to Belgium for the next World Cup.
“We did not have any problem coming to Greece,” she said. “Flights had less number of passengers and there weren’t too many flights, so we departed early and arrived early. Surprisingly, there was no screening at the Athens airport. “We have the next World Cup in Belgium from March 20 to 22. After that, some competitions might be postponed. But we don’t have confirmed news yet. So we will decide (future plans) only after that.” Her family back home are worried, but Bhavani tries to reassure them every day. “My family are okay with my situation. They tell me to not go to any other places except training, to take care of my hygiene and to have healthy food. I talk with them every day. They want to come back after the competition in Belgium in two weeks.”