Chennai: Overcoming all odds, Masilamani Ramesh (40), domestic help and a mother of two, had turned out to be an achiever, winning the gold medal at the state-level powerlifting competition. Hold your breath, her teenage daughter Dharani (17), a Plus One student in a government school, won the bronze at the same event at Trichy.
When there is determination, poverty may not be an obstacle and it is not surprising that the mom and daughter are the toast of the textile city. The mother clinched the gold in the 63kg category with a deadlift of 77.5 kg, while the teen annexed the bronze in the 47 kg category with a lift of 72.5 kg at the competition organized by the Tamil Nadu Powerlifting Association last month.
Now, the duo has set their eyes on the next tourney of the Association, being held in Chennai during September 14 – 19. Masilamani's metamorphosis into a professional weightlifter is a story of grit and determination, despite abject poverty. Living under a tiny tin roof house in Ramanujam Nagar near Kuniyamuthur, a suburb of the city, Masilamani works as a maid in two houses in the neighborhood. Her husband, Ramesh, is a daily wager. Even the rent-free house is provided by one of her employers.
The couple's elder daughter, Dharshini, is married off while the younger one studies at the government school nearby. What prompted Masilamani, working as domestic help in two houses, to take up weightlifting? Like most obese people who want to lose weight, she too stepped into a gym six months ago. And it was there her turnaround started.
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“It was one of my employers who sent me to the gym so that I can lose weight. There, the gym owner-cum-trainer C Sivakumar, an Asian gold medalist in powerlifting, asked me to take up powerlifting. Maybe he could have observed the spark in me,” said Masilamani adding that she also got her younger daughter to join her.
Encouraging the duo, Sivakumar doesn't charge them any fee and for both, the training at the gym is free. Initially, she was laughed at by relatives and neighbors. But, it has not deterred her and she continued practicing with her daughter after work. Now, it has turned into appreciation. But, their struggle for excellence still continues.
Masilamani earns around Rs 4000 a month while her husband is a daily wage worker. As such, the mom and daughter do not have the proper diet required for powerlifters. Normally, a powerlifter would need a protein intake of not less than Rs 2,500. They cannot dream of that with their paltry income and had to remain content mostly with rice. Dharani takes her lunch at the school, provided under the government Noon Meal Scheme. According to their trainer Sivakumar, the duo would possibly get a sponsor once they excel at the Chennai competition. Well, the mother and daughter are preparing hard with fire in their belly.
