Sword-play is serious sport for these students

COIMBATORE: Ujjwal Gupta, a second year MSc Geology student at the Jammu University, represents a new breed of sportspersons who have taken up fencing as a competitive sport. Though one of the four events that was part of the first modern Olympics in 1896, fencing has not had a following in India.
Now, that seems to be changing. "In India, the game has been active only for a decade.But despite many of the limitations, we have been able to participate in international meets," he says. And, Ujjwal should know. Presently in Coimbatore to participate in the All India Inter-University Fencing Championship that started on Thursday at the Kumaraguru College of Technology on Thursday, he is set to compete in the Olympic qualifying competitions, which will be held in Japan this April.
G Karthick, a final year B tech IT student at Anna University Chennai, says he may take up fencing as a full time career if he gets a chance. "I started fencing when I was in school. I have participated in many national and international events. Now, I have got a placement in a company. But if I get an opportunity to be a professional player, I will be happy to do that. I'm looking for such opportunities also," said Karthick, who was the runner up at last year's inter-university championship.
Karthick says the game is interesting and simple. There are three categories of the game, epee, foil, and sabre. But do players get hurt? "We wear a safety jacket. Depending on the format of the game, the rules change. But, we can say generally that in fencing a participant has to touch the other participant's body with his sword with a required amount of weight. This will be detected by an electronic sensor attached to the sword which will show the points on a screen nearby," he says.
What the game needs to turn more popular is more funds. Says Bhawani Devi, a member of the Kannur University Fencing team, who is poised to participate in the Olympic qualifying event in April: "I wish we got more financial support from the government. Now, we have to spend a huge amount in especially in travelling to foreign countries." Bhawani said many women are taking up the sport.
G Naga Subramanian, chief coach of Tamil Nadu, says the sport is gaining popularity in Tamil Nadu. "Even school students are taking up the game and some of them have attended international competitions," he says.