Asian Games Heptathlete Swapna Barman may undergo back surgery

KOLKATA: Swapna Barman, who won India's first-ever heptathlete gold medal at Asian Games, may need to undergo a back surgery. 

Barman's coach Subhas Sarkar on Friday confirmed the news of her injury. 

"A surgery cannot be ruled out. She won`t compete in any major events in 2019. She has to fully recover first," Sarkar said on the sidelines of Sports Authority of India (SAI) felicitation here.

Barman had a tooth and gum infection and back injury during the Asian Games in Indonesia recently. 

She has been struggling with the injury since the previous Asian Games at Incheon. 

The Jalpaiguri girl almost had to pull out of the World Championships last year due to the injury.

Besides injuries, Barman had to face financial hurdles.

One of the four children of her parents, her life is a story of survival. Her father Panchanan Barman pulled rickshaw till a stroke forced him to stay at home, while mother Basana Devi worked as a maid and plucked leaves in the tea garden.

"It will be quite an emotional thing as I will meet my family after more than a year (last time she went home after winning gold at the Asian Athletics in Bhubaneswar in July last year). My mother always asks `Tui bhalo achis to` (hope you are doing well). I am missing them a lot," Swapna said.

Barman and her coach will now go to Mumbai to meet Dr Anant Joshi and other doctors to determine the exact nature of her injuries.

Barman achieved her personal best score of 6026 points in the seven-event competition to earn India a first heptathlon gold in Asian Games.

Barman on Friday also refused to comment on the Rs 10 lakh reward announced by the West Bengal government but said she would love to have a house in the city near her training base.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had promised Barman Rs 10 lakh and a government job a day after she scripted history by winning India's first-ever heptathlon gold medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta. 

The announcement had come in for a lot of criticism with Haryana offering Rs 3 crore to each of their gold medalists while neighbouring Odisha also announced Rs 3 crore to sprinter Dutee Chand who won two silver medals.

"I have no comments. I have heard that the government has promised jobs to me and my brother. I have got a lot of offers and I am yet to decide," Barman told reporters on the sidelines of her felicitation function at the SAI complex.

(With Agency Inputs)