LUCKNOW: Yet another farmer’s daughter
Punam Yadav
braved odds to add another shade of gold at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to India’s tally on Sunday.
While the 22-year-old from Dandupur village in Varanasi, was basking in glory in Australia, her elder sister Shashi
Yadav
talked about the roads of struggle they had to overcome before success came.
It wasn’t easy for the Yadav sisters – Punam,
Shashi and Pooja who took to weightlifting despite coming from a family with moderate means. Their father
Kailash Nath Yadav
being a marginal farmer, it was difficult for the seven siblings (five sisters and two brothers) from the very beginning.
“We had to struggle all through, not only financially, but also had to break through the societal pressure of playing sports despite being girls.” Now with both
Punam
and Shashi employed with Indian Railways, there is financial stability in the family. “The best thing was that our father, himself a sports lover, backed us all through.”