TN mother eyes Olympic medal in powerlifting for her daughter, seeks sponsors

Masilamani's success story is inspiring as she initially took to weightlifting in her bid to fight overweight. She never expected that the sport she chose, ignoring comments by friends and relatives, would eventually put her as well her daughter in spotlight now.

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu): In this epic journey of a mother and daughter, you will find housemaid-turned-weightlifter Masilamani giving her all to see her daughter rise to greater heights in powerlifting. Living up to her expectations, daughter Dharani won the silver medal by coming second in the national powerlifting competition held in Chennai last week. Now, the proud daughter aims at making it to the Olympics.

The mother-daughter first grabbed everyone's attention by winning gold and bronze medals in their respective categories in the state-level competitions held in Trichy. How did Masilamani, who used to work as a housemaid, become a weightlifter? How did her daughter get interested in this field? We reached out to them in Coimbatore to find out. Masilamani works as a housemaid while her husband Ramesh is a laborer. Masilamani explains how she first got interested in weightlifting. Owners of houses where she worked, advised her to do exercise because she was obese.

Masilamani's success story is indeed inspiring as she initially took to weightlifting in her bid to fight overweight. She never expected that the sport she chose, ignoring comments by friends and relatives, would eventually put her as well as her daughter in the spotlight now.

Masilamani says her first duty is to prepare her daughter for future competitions in order to fulfill her wish. She is earning Rs 4,000 per month by doing work in two households. "With this, we are educating two girls, taking care of the family in the midst of great difficulty, and training them. It would be very helpful if they get a sponsor to train them," she said.

Masilamani further said that if she gets a government job, she can achieve many more medals. Dharani said that she got interested in the competition when she went to see her mother's training. "Maybe it was difficult in the beginning but it turned easy due to practice. Winning a silver medal in state-level competitions and national-level competitions has given me a lot of happiness. I wish to participate in Commonwealth and Olympic Games," said Dharani.

Thanks to intensive training, Masilamani won a gold medal in the 63 kg deadlift and her daughter Dharani won a bronze medal in the 47 kg weight category in the state-level powerlifting competition held in Trichy.