Swapna Burman has 6 toes on each of her feet. This could pose some obvious problems for an athlete; particularly when said athlete is born into a family of extremely modest means. Swapna however, is that story of talent and determination that overcame all odds and went on to win a gold medal at the Asian Games. Her story and the stories of India’s fortunes and the 2018 Asian Games have given us much cause for cheer
Having six toes on each foot meant special shoe requirements; but with her father being a rickshaw puller and mother working as a tea estate worker, this was obviously difficult. Growing up in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri, hers has been a struggle of epic proportions.
The heptathlon is one of the most difficult of events. It consists of 7 events: 100 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 m, long jump, javelin throw and the 800 m. The tweet features a video of an overjoyed mother's reaction of her daughter winning a gold medal.
In this tweet, Barman posted a picture of herself after winning. She is seen here with a bandaged jaw. She overcome injuries and severe pain to achieve what she did. She had a simple request for customised shoes at the end of it all!
India finished third overall, winning 7 gold medals: men’s shot put, javelin, triple jump and 800 and 1500 m events as well as women 4 x 400 m relay and of course the heptathlon. Indian athletes also won 10 silver medals and 3 bronze medals at various track and field events.
The duo of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan won the gold medal for the men's doubles. Ankita Raina won bronze in the women's single event and Prajnesh Gunneswaran won bronze for the men's singles event.
Fouaad Mirza won the eventing individual event silver medal in equestrian. The Indian team also won the silver medal at the team eventing equestrian event.
P V Sindhu became the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the Asiad singles event. She got the silver whereas Saina Nehwal won bronze.
For the first time ever, Indian table tennis players managed to win medals at the Asian Games. Indian players won two bronze medals: for the men's team event and the mixed doubles event.
The Indian men's rowing team won gold medal at the quadruple sculls event and Indian rowers picked up two more bronze medals. The women's kabaddi team won the silver medal. India won 4 bronze medals in Wushu (a martial art also known as Chinese Kung Fu). Indian squash players netted three bronze medals. Indian players also won two bronze medals at bridge: in the men's team and the mixed team events.
After 36 years, the Indian women’s hockey team has a shot at the gold medal today when they take on Japan in the finals. The last time they won gold was in Delhi in 1982 and reached the finals last in 1998. The Indian women have remained unbeaten in this Asian Games. All of India joins together to say Chak De! to the Indian women today!
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