Click to play videoMumbai: Tightening her brace and getting ready to lift some serious weights, 17-year-old Pooja has spent every evening for the last two years sweating it out in a gym, all in pursuit of her dream for being a Powerlifting champion.
And her medal haul in the last two years has been just two golds and and two silvers.
But despite her success, this young champion has found the going tough simply because Powerlifting is not an Olympic sport and thus there is no state funding, leaving her father — a small time mandap decorator — carrying the burden of funding his daughter's ambition.
Says her father, Sharad Kadam, "Our expenditure increases when we have to provide her special food for her diet."
And now, this young girl's winning streak may come to an abrupt end — not because she lacks potential to win the gold — but because the money has fallen short.
Of the Rs 1.8 lakh Pooja needs to pay to compete in the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in New Zealand this December, her family has managed to collect only half.
Says her father, "We have to pay the all the money by 25 October."
While other states like Andhra Pradesh and Punjab raise funds for their lifters, the Maharashtra government seems unwilling to lend a helping hand to this girl.
Says her coach, Sunil Gangurde, "We went to the government, but they refused to help us."
But none of this seems to have dampened Pooja's spirit and she remains focussed on her goal, who says she still has to win the gold in the Commonwealth Games.
YOU CAN HELP POOJA | |
 | You can help Pooja realise her dream. Help in funding her ticket to New Zealand for the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship in December. You can contact her father Sharad Kadam on 098209-58539. |
(With inputs from Samreet Kaur)
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