The First Indian Athlete to Win a Heptathlon Has a Heartwarming Story to Tell

Swapna Burman is the first Indian to win the gold medal at an Asian Games Heptathlon event. The heptathlon is considered as the toughest of all athletics event and comprises of seven events that are 1.00 metres hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 metres, long jump, javelin throw and 800 metres. Therefore, it was a proud moment for India when Swapna Burman, hailing from Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district won the first gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games Heptathlon event. Overcoming Hurdles What makes us admire Swapna is that she comes from a family where her parents struggled to make ends meet. Her father was a rickshaw puller but had to discontinue his work when he suffered a paralytic stroke. Her mother who used to work as a domestic help also quit her work in order to take care of her husband. Her brothers dropped out of college and did menial jobs to support the family. The greatest advantage for Swapna was that her family supported her to pursue her dream of becoming an athlete. Taking Up The Challenge Swapna had 6 toes and this was a big challenge for anyone aspiring to be an athlete. Swapna said that when she played a sport for a long time, her toes would hurt. Nevertheless, she started playing through local clubs and earned through competitions in order to help her family. When the Asian Games call-up came her way, she gave it her best shot. She wanted to make her parents and her country proud and when the results were announced, she said she was stunned to hear ‘First Indian Heptathlete’ and ‘Gold Medal’. For her, that moment was life-changing. It takes sheer courage and determination to overcome financial hurdles and physical irregularity to script history and make the country proud. For Swapna, she is just happy that she could make her parents and country proud and that she is finally ‘somebody’. Image Source: Sports Lounge