Swapna Barman scripted history on Wednesday when she became India’s first-ever Heptathlon gold medallist at the Asian Games.
Swapna Barman scripted history on Wednesday when she became India’s first-ever Heptathlon gold medallist at the Asian Games.
Barman, who has six toes in both her feet, produced her career-best performance today by logging 6026 aggregate points from the seven events spread for two days. She later went on to say that she just couldn’t believe she actually scored those many points.
Coming from a very humble background, Swapna, has fought against the odds to create history. Here is her inspirational story in pictures:
1. Swapna's humble background
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India’s Swapna Barman, who comes from a humble background, hails from Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. Her father was a rickshaw pulled before she got a stroke in 2013 and ever since then, he has been bedridden. Her mother works at a tea plantation. PC: PTI
2. Swapna's house in Jalpaiguri
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Swapna and her parents live in a rented house given by the Panchayat Samiti in Jalpaiguri. Apart from professional sports, Swapna works part-time at ONGC where she receives a small stipend. She was earlier offered a job by Railways but since the salary was less, she did not take it up. PC: ANI
3. When Swapna was spotted for the first time
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Swapna was first spotted by her coach Subhash Sarkar at a district meet at Jalpaigudi at an age of 13 and it was him who suggested her to take up Heptathlon. PC: PTI
4. Swapna prefers Subash over any foreign coach
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Since she has always trained under Subash, apparently there have been several instances when the national federation has aksed Swapna to train under a foreign coach and Swapna has refused to do so. PC: AFP
5. Swapna tough student to deal with
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Moreover, even with Subash, Swapna has not been an easy student. She is very moody and has threatened to go back home quite a few times. PC: PTI
6. When Swapna fled from SAI's hostel
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In fact, there was a time when Swapna was not getting the desired results, she actually left Kolkata’s Sports Authority of India (SAI)’s hostel and returned home. Subhash then had to convince her to come back and resume her training. PC: Twitter
7. Injury-prone Swapna
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She has been a very injury-prone athlete but despite that she has produced results. According to GoSports, who have been supporting her financially, Swapna has met an army of sports medicine specialists since 2015. PC: AFP
8. Swapna: Gold despite injuries
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Even when Swapna won the historic gold on Wednesday, she was not fully fit. Apart from the infected teeth, she had injuries in knee, waist, ankle and hip. PC: Reuters
9. Swapna was tested separately before Asiad
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According to reports, the National coach Bahadur Singh ensured before the start of Asian Games that Swapna was not hiding any major injuries. She was tested in four events but luckily, she did well in those and was allowed to participate in the tournament. PC: Twitter
10. Swapna's risk paid off
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“I put my bet on my body. I assumed Asian Games was my last tournament in my life and if I didn’t win in this, I could never win any,” Swapna said. She also revealed that she chose not to undergo a surgery because she was scared that an unsuccessful surgery could hamper her chances at the Asian Games. PC: AFP
11. Swapna's upcoming surgery
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Swapna is expected to undergo a few more tests in Mumbai before she underwent the long due surgery before she shifted her focus to the Olympics. PC: Twitter
12. Swapna already has made it to textbooks!
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Even before her Asiad gold, Swapna’s story had become a part of Kolkata’s Grade 8’s textbook. That happened to post her silver medal win in 2017’s Asian Championships. PC: AFP
