Devi was born on 1 March 1968 at Kairang Mayai Leikai in Imphal, to a Hindu Meitei family.

By the time she finished her graduation from Maharaja Bodha Chandra College in Imphal, weightlifting had become her first choice.

Beginning 1985, she started winning medals, mostly gold, in the National Weightlifting Championships in 44-kilogram, 46-kilogram and 48-kilogram, the latter her final weight category.

Changing her weight category to 46-kilogram she claimed a gold in Pune in 1994 but was relegated to silver when she tried to compete in the 48-kilogram class four years later in Manipur.

Her first World Women's Weightlifting Championship was the Manchester edition in 1989 and the reward of three silver medals buoyed her spirits considerably.