Saraswathi Anand started going to the gym only four or five years ago. The mother of two 11 year-old twins maintained an active lifestyle but the lockdown brought everything to a standstill. During the pandemic, she felt that health needed priority and started getting even more conscious about eating healthy and exercise. The kids had started staying home without going out to play, so she also had to lead by example. She started taking them out for cycling. Thus began a transformation and a new journey began.
At some point in that journey, about a year ago, she realised that she had some potential in powerlifting. She started off at home and got in touch with some coaches to improve her performance. The results are there for the world to see. She won a Silver in the World Powerlifting Congress (India) in April 2021 and a Gold in Pro League India’s First National Full Powerlifting Championship in Bengaluru this July.
All this, while balancing family and her responsibility as AVP – Marketing and Product (language cluster) at Network18 Media & Investments. Before this stint of over three years, Anand had spent almost a decade across radio, print and TV.
In conversation with Medianews4u.com, she recalls the start of her powerlifting journey. Anand says, “I discovered that I had some real passion towards it and I was doing very well for my weight and my age. I participated in the nationals last year and came up with a Silver medal. I had lifted about 80 kgs and that was the first time. It was gymming I think, that was a trigger to really get sporty, healthy and athletic.”
On the Gold, she notes, “After winning Silver I kept the journey going, got healthier and more toned with a balanced diet. I started training two months ago for this year’s nationals (Pro League) and was able to up my game to about 92.5 kgs. I was able to add 12.5 kgs this year and came up with a Gold. Basically the journey has been extremely fruitful; with a very balanced diet, I feel very healthy and energetic.”
Anand explains that the benefits of being fit go beyond the sporting arena. She recalls a recent trip with her husband and daughters to the Himalayan range for a lovely trek at about 12,800 feet, their first in the Uttarakhand region. With good health and fitness, one can extend and push oneself to places one has not gone earlier, she underlines.
The media professional, mother and powerlifter competed in the category of Masters 1 (40 to 44 years). Her lift of 92.5 kilos would have bettered even the open category (20 to 39 years) lift of 85 kilos, reveals the 42 year-old.
Though she has qualified to represent India at the ‘Worlds’, she is putting that off for next year. She explains why. “Work and training really takes a hectic schedule. There are powerlifting federations under which you compete, one is called the Pro League and the other is called the WPC. I have qualified under both. I get up at 4.30 am, train, then get to the kids’ school, then come to work and go back home, maintain a diet…” says Anand.
She credits her husband for being very supportive – from looking after the kids to managing the house, helping her career aspirations and sports. He is a documentary filmmaker and photographer; a freelancer working on his own.
She also credits Network 18 for giving her ‘tremendous support, love, encouragement and recognition’. From accommodating her training schedules to allowing work from home when coaches are in town for special sessions, she is very grateful for the support received from the work front, underlines Anand.
What explains the late start though? Did she have any inkling about her affinity for sport? Anand explains that while she was interested in sports since her early days, she was nutritionally deficient and hence lacked energy.
She observes, “Girls tend to give up sports very early in life, get into Instagram, Tik Tok etc., so I wanted to lead by example, for my girls so that they don’t give up sports. My twin girls are now inspired to continue in sports, as their mother does, handling career, house; that is the lesson that we are trying to live by, my husband and I. Both of us are involved so they see what gender equality is, they see what sports can do to a person and how happy it keeps a person. So I hope they learn lessons.”
Competing in the global competition may be on hold for Saraswathi Anand but powerlifting is not. The next goal is to see if she can break the national record. What she already has broken – or shattered – are a few glass ceilings.
