Swapna Barman – The Golden Girl

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Swapna Barman – The Golden Girl

Compiled and Edited By Surjit Singha

Swapna Barman hails from the Koch Rajbongshi (Koch) Tribe born on 29 October 1996 Jalpaiguri (Previously Jalpaiguri was an integral part of the Cooch Behar Princely State), presently it is merged with West Bengal, India who is an Indian heptathlete.

She is unordinary with six toes on each foot daughter of Panchanan Barman and Basana Barman. Swapna Barman is the first Indian heptathlete to win a Gold in Asian Games. She gave her best performance by logging 6026 aggregate points from the seven events which were spread for two days. In spite of her severe pain from teeth pain, she gave her best for India.

“I have got this gold on the National Sports day, so it’s really special. I use normal shoes worn by people who have normal five toes. It really pains during training. It is very uncomfortable, whether I wear spikes or normal shoes,” Swapna said with a smile. She said she also overcame a knee injury before the event.

Asked if she would like some companies to manufacture customized shoes for her, she said, “Definitely. It will make life easy.”

En route the title, she won the high jump (1003 points) and javelin throw (872 points) events and finished second-best in the shot put (707 points) and long jump (865 points).

100m (981 points, 5th position) and 200m in which she finished seventh with 790 points. Going into the 800m run, the last of the seven-event competition, Barman was leading China’s Qingling Wang by 64 points.

She needed a good run in the concluding event in which she eventually finished fourth. It was the same event in which she had collapsed during the Asian Athletics Championship last year in Bhubaneswar but despite finishing fourth today, she had emerged a champion.

Asked about the tape on her cheek she said, it was to lessen the pain in her teeth.

“I used to eat a lot of chocolates, so I have a teeth problem. It started paining two days before the event. It was severe but I could not let years of hard work go waste. So I forgot the pain and gave my best,”

“The first day, I thought I won’t be able to compete. It was unbearable. I thought what will happen to my hard work, I had to do it. I forgot the pain.”

“6026 points is big but I could have done better. But I am happy to have won the gold in Asian Games in spite of so many injuries I have been carrying in the last one year and also during this Asian Games,” she added.

Swapna Barman competed in the two-day event with a taped right cheek to lessen pain arising out of teeth infection.

“The teeth problem arose two days before the competition and the pain was severe. I was having a slight knee injury also which I have been carrying since the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar last year. But I never thought of dropping out of the event,” she said.

Asked how she recovered after trailing behind China’s Qingling Wang on the first day of the event to win the gold, she said: “The lead (by the Chinese) was not much and so I keep trying. Then I did well in the javelin and then I was leading.

“In the last event (800m), I told myself I will do whatever she (the Chinese) do and so I was not bothered about the race, I was bothered about finishing ahead of the Chinese,” she said.

Barman finished fourth in the 800m ahead of Wang to take the gold. She also had made appeals to provide her customized shoes for her “unordinary” feet.

“I have not heard anything about any offer on that front. But it will be good if somebody does that.”

ASK Automotive gives Rs. 12 lakh support to Asian Games Gold Medalist Swapna Barman for the training of 2020 Olympics

ASK Automotive Private Ltd., a leading manufacturer of Friction products, honored gold medal-winning athlete Swapna Barman with a total sum of Rs. 12 lakh for her training and development for the forthcoming Olympics in 2020.

ASK Automotive has recognized the fact that through determination ‘whatever is conceivable is achievable’. Its Chairman & Managing Director, K.S. Rathee never misses a chance to value people who are dedicated, determined and who achieve the glory despite the odds. “I wish Swapna all the best for the Olympics,” said K.S. Rathee. He further stated that stipend amount would be doubled if she brings any medal in the Olympics.

ASK is proud of Swapna Barman and has decided to pay four cheques of Rs. 3 lakh each, so that the athlete can take care of her basic needs and devote her time for upcoming International Events with full vigor and single-minded dedication.

RECORDS

Asian Games

  • Gold award in 2018 Jakarta Heptathlon

Asian Championships

  • Gold award in 2017 Bhubaneswar Heptathlon

Federation Cup

  • Gold award in 2017 New Delhi Heptathlon

About Heptathlon

A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.

There are two heptathlons – the women’s heptathlon and the men’s – composed of different events. The men’s heptathlon is older and is held indoors, while the women’s is held outdoors and was introduced in the 1980s, first appearing in the Olympics in 1984.

How it works

This is the women’s ultimate all-round test, a seven-event contest covering the whole range of athletics disciplines and spread over two days.

Competitors earn points for their performance in each discipline and the overall winner is the athlete who accrues the most points.

The first day consists of (in order): 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m. Day two comprises the long jump, javelin, and 800m.

History

Women first competed in the pentathlon – five disciplines – at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. This format was later replaced by the heptathlon, with the addition of the javelin and 800m. The enlarged event was first contested at the 1983 IAAF World Championships and then the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Did you know

The 7000-point barrier has only been breeched on 10 occasions, and by just four women. Six of those marks came from the US star Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The heptathlon came on to the programme of major events in 1981, at the likes of the Asian Championships and World Student Games.

Gold standard

Sweden’s Carolina Kluft is the most successful heptathlete in IAAF World Championships history, winning consecutive gold medals in 2003, 2005 and 2007. In fact, Kluft was unbeaten in 22 combined events competitions from March 2002 until her international retirement at the end of the 2012 season, a streak which included winning at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Swapna Barman Featured in Femina

Indian heptathlete Swapna Barman, who bagged gold in the challenging track and field event at Asian Games 2018, which was held at Jakarta is featured in the FEMINA cover page of the 2019 Jan Issue. Koch Rajbongshi Tribe is proud of her achievement.

The other sportswomen are Rahi Sarnobat, the first Indian woman shooter to win an individual Asian Games gold in the 25m pistol event; and Vinesh Phogat, who won India’s first gold medal in women’s wrestling at Asian Games 2018 and Hima Das, the sprinter from Assam who won a silver medal in the 400m finals.

Femina had played a significant role to promote sportswomen through their avenues which will help Indian sportswomen to come up and represent our country India.

Swapna Barman: Brand Ambassador of YONO

State Bank of India selected Swapna Barman as the Brand Ambassador for its digital app YONO that makes both lifestyle and banking available through a single app.

Last Updated: 24 December 2018

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