Asian Games gold medallist Swapna Barman is used to clearing hurdles. The heptathlon event in which she clinched gold in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta included the 100 m hurdles.
Even before that, she had to overcome physical and financial hurdles on her tortuous road to success.
Born with six toes on each foot, she was unable to compete with proper footwear for most of her career. Regular shoes meant for people with five toes were uncomfortable, even painful, when she took part in them.
Further, she hailed from a poor family from the Rajbanshi community, which has SC status in West Bengal.
Barman's father used to ride a rickshaw van before a stroke left him bedridden years ago when she was still a schoolgirl. Her mother had to juggle two jobs -- as a housemaid and a tea garden worker -- to put food on the table.
Then, just before her event at the Asiad, she had a swollen jaw which had to be taped up because of an agonising toothache. She conquered all those obstacles to win the gold, which aptly came on National Sports Day.
Eight years later, she was faced with yet another hurdle after being nominated by the ruling TMC from the Rajganj assembly constituency for the upcoming West Bengal polls.
Barman joined the TMC last month while she was still employed with the Indian Railways. As this was a violation of service rules, a departmental inquiry was launched against her on March 9.
She subsequently sent her resignation letter on March 16 but it was not accepted because of the ongoing inquiry and since she had not served her notice period. Barman was then forced to approach the Jalpaiguri bench of the Calcutta High Court.
Meanwhile, the sitting TMC MP from Rajganj, Khageswar Roy, also expressed his hurt at being denied the ticket. However, the party managed to placate him, following which Roy announced his support for Barman.
Amid all this, her father passed away on March 21.
Barman has now announced that the legal saga is finally over, with the railway authorities accepting her resignation and issuing the clearance for her to file her nomination papers. She immediately launched her campaign by paying a visit to tea garden workers in the constituency.
The 29-year-old is not the first track and field athlete to enter the electoral fray in West Bengal. Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, who won the 800m and 1500m gold medals at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, would later become a CPI(M) MP after winning the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from the Krishnanagar constituency.
On May 4, we'll find out if Barman can emulate Sikdar by completing a twin triumph in both the sporting and political arenas.