New Delhi: Arjuna award winner Swapna Barman, who became India’s first heptathlete to win a gold medal at the Asian Games in 2018, is gearing up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and plans to work on her strategy.
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“Practice for the Olympics is going on. I will work on strategy and will aim for a better performance than before. There’s no point in giving full effort in practice for competitions in 2019. I’m doing 50-60 per cent practice along with rehab to recover from injuries,” Barman said.
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While Swapna is not playing for competitions in 2019, she assures that she is fit. “I’m fit otherwise, but not competition-fit. I don’t want to underperform because I haven’t practised enough.”
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Swapna, who is originally from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, was recently in the capital for the launch of the VRCT jacket by global sportswear giant adidas. Donning the redesigned varsity-style jacket by the brand that makes customised shoes for her unique six-toed feet, Swapna said that she is proud of the feats Indian sportspeople are making in the field.
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“Watching other athletes, like P.V. Sindhu, perform well also boosts your morale. These days people are encouraging towards sports, and I think there is enough happening. Even in villages, people have sports on their mind.”
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Apart from practice and rehab, how does the 23-year-old spend her days? “Thinking about sports every moment of the day, plus singing, which I really like.” she laughs.
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