KOLKATA: Asian Games gold medalist athlete Swapna Barman's kuccha house in Ghoshpara village near Jalpaiguri town in north Bengal has become a local pilgrimage of sorts over the past few days with visitors coming in from across the region to meet and greet the family members and wish them luck. The feat of the girl hailing from a poor Rajbongshi family has astonished the local residents and has made them proud who are gloating over how the gold medal brought the nondescript town to the global stage.
However, behind Swapna's success, lies the support and sacrifice of her family which stood solidly beside her despite all odds, foremost among them being her mother Basana Barman. The mid-fifties woman had to do double jobs of a tea garden worker and a housemaid to suffice the family income after her husband and Swapna's father Panchanan Barman had to give up his job of pulling rickshaw after suffering a massive stroke seven year ago which bedridden him. Since then, it has been a roller coaster ride for Basana Barman.
Narrating her struggles to The New Indian Express, she said: "I had to work as a tea garden worker and a housemaid to run the family as the pay in tea gardens is very meagre and it was very difficult to manage even two square meals a day for the family of six." Swapna's father Panchanan Barman had earlier said that they could not provide nutritious meal required by a sportsperson to their daughter due to poverty. However, that did not deter the family's determination. "After noticing Swapna's knack for athletics since her childhood, our family was determined to let her follow her dreams and support her throughout. But it would not have been possible without the guidance of Swapna's coach Subhash Sarkar," Basana Barman added.
Subhash Sarkar, a resident of Ghughudanga in Jalpaiguri, heard about Swapna from people and went straight to Ghoshpara village and found her practising high jump in a makeshift bamboo structure built by her father before his stroke. Since then, Sarkar trained Swapna at Jalpaiguri Sports Complex where she was taken by her mother every day. Later, Sarkar took Swapna to Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Kolkata complex in 2011 and trained her for heptathlon. But shoes became a major problem for Swapna as she had six foots on both toes.
"While initial training in sports was given by Swapna's father during her childhood, she was very determined to study and play sports. From Jalpaiguri Sports Complex, Subhash Sarkar took every responsibility of her sports in Kolkata. He managed her shoes and took her to the international stage. Subhash Sarkar and SAI have a large part to play for Swapna's success," Basana Barman added.
Jalpaiguri unit of SAI is planning a grand reception and felicitation of Swapna Barman after her expected return home around September 3-4. Showing her gratitude to Subhash Sarkar, Swapna refused any other coach but him to train her for international events. Under his guidance, Swapna first broke the 2004 national record of Kavya Muthanna at the 29th National Junior Athletics Championships in Bengaluru in 2013. She then came fifth in 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea and won gold in Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar and Federation Cup in Delhi in 2017.
While the sportswoman received a scholarship of Rs 1.5 lakh in 2016, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh and a state government job after she won the gold medal for India at Jakarta on Wednesday. "We hope that our economic condition will be better now after Swapna has been offered a government job," said Swapna's younger brother Asit Barman, a construction labourer by profession.