It takes courage to do something for the first time because there is an obvious lack of support. But, more than that, the risk of being forgotten is way higher in the case of failure. 

Because no one knew what you were doing in the first place. 

It takes a strong heart to do it anyway, and Bhavani, you should take a lot of pride in that. 

You should not say sorry. 

You, of all people, should not. It’s us who should. 

We are sorry we did not honour your dedication before your victory. 

We are sorry you had to fight alone for years, with little to no support. 

We are sorry for being unworthy supporters. 

You did your best, Bhavani. You tried really hard, and you wanted to win so bad. It was evident. 

So even though things did not go the way we were expecting them to, it doesn’t matter. 

I know an athlete doesn’t measure their accomplishments and failures like that, and it’s fair. But you must see what you have done for your sport and the country. 

You must see what you have done for all the young people who talked about fencing in groups but were ignored because “who cares about fencing?!”. 

You must see what you have done for all Indians, who now have a new sport to follow, and say, “One of ours was right up there”. 

We are a country desperately looking for some reason, any reason, to be happy. You must see how happy you have made us. 

You shouldn’t say sorry, Bhavani. We are proud of you.