Impending surgery not to stop Swapna Barman from resuming training

MUMBAI: Behind Swapna Barman's delightful smile that adorns her face and charms observers is a steely resolve that few are born and blessed with. That spunk and ability to befriend pain and say hello to it galvanised her to gallop to victory in the

heptathlon

event of the recently concluded Asian Games in

Jakarta

.


In the city to consult experts to find out if she requires a knee surgery for a painful tear, Barman is ready to get back to training again. "I don't want to leave any stone unturned in my preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," she told TOI at a city hotel on Thursday. "I know it is going to be very tough, but I believe in the process and not the results," the 21-year-old from Jalpaiguri added.

Along with a troublesome knee, Swapna also has a back problem apart from having six toes on both feet which makes wearing regular shoes uncomfortable. With the help of GoSports Foundation, a nonprofit venture working towards the development of some of the country's top talents through its scholarships and knowledge building programmes, Swapna has met a few foot and spine specialists, radiologists, orthopedic surgeons and physiotherapists to assess her condition. However, a final decision has still not been taken. Swapna, however, is ready to resume training.

"She is yet to go home and meet her parents as there are too many receptions she has to attend and then there is Durga Puja coming up. After that we will resume training as I believe she can still manage even without surgery," said her coach Subhash Sarkar and added that she will start training gradually. If she feels any discomfort, a call about the surgery will be taken, he stated.

Swapna has trained all her life by squeezing six toes in shoes meant for five and even won the gold at the Asian Athletics held in Bhubaneswar last year.

However, no major shoe manufacturer was willing to come forward to help her. But a gold in Jakarta changed the scenario. Now, many manufacturers are ready to help her. Since she was included in GoSports' programme in 2015, they have provided for the expenses of 19 pairs of shoes.

"She underwent a 3D scan on her toes on Wednesday. We are not just looking at providing her right shaped shoes, we are also looking at getting shoes which can help her to optimise her efforts," informed Deepthi Bopaiah of GoSports, adding that consultations are on with few leading manufacturers.

Swapna, who comes from a humble background, has an immense sweet tooth which causes her to dig into chocolates frequently. That indulgence has caused dental problems and forced her to part with three of her teeth. It almost derailed her Asiad campaign too as she felt severe pain while participating in the heptathlon event and had to deal with it by strapping her swollen right jaw with pink tape to manage the pain.

Swapna turns 22 on October 28. Any prizes for guessing the birthday menu apart from chocolates? "Kheer poori and halwa," she says with a grin.

Indeed. The gains after conquering pain should be sweet.