SWAPNA WAITS FOR HER ‘PERFECT’ SHOES
NEW DELHI: Leading Indian heptathlete and Asian Games champion Swapna Barman’s wait for customised pair of sports shoes — the Bengal athlete has six toes in both feet — is getting longer. Adidas India had announced in September last year that they will provide the athlete special shoes so that she could compete pain-free, but nothing has materialised.
The company had assured her seven pair of shoes — heptathletes use different shoes for different disciplines. However, with the new competition season approaching, Swapna is still waiting for Adidas to revert. Heptathlon comprises 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m, long jump, javelin and 800m, spread over two days.
In October, the 22-year-old from Kolkata along with her coach Subhash Sarkar visited the company’s ‘Athlete Services Lab’ in Germany’s Herzogenaurach for a detailed footwear analysis and tested the customised shoes. There has been no follow-up after that. “For us, the process is still on and we are waiting. That’s all I can say,” said Sarkar over phone from Kolkata.
When reached for their response, the company didn’t give a timeline for the delivery of the shoes. Sharad Singla, director, brand marketing, Adidas India, said: “We’re happy with the progress and shall soon see Swapna get that perfect fit which will help her improve her show in heptathlon events.”
Adidas India didn’t disclose the details of the deal but, it is learnt, they’ve promised to provide Swapna shoes free of cost.
Getting proper footwear has been a big issue since Swapna began her athletics career in 2012 under Sarkar at the Sports Authority of India’s Kolkata centre. Swapna overcame odds to excel in Jakarta Asian Games, accumulating a careerbest 6026 points to win gold. The athlete from Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal squeezes her feet into normal shoes, a painful affair, while training and competing. Going into the 2019 season, customised shoes could have made a big difference, said her coach.
However, Sarkar says they will make do with what they have as two major events — Asian Championships in April and World Championships in September — are lined up.
Asked about Swapna’s fitness, Sarkar said, “Things are better than before but not as good as they should be.”
Her season’s first competition — Federation Cup — starts in Patiala on March 15. She needs a tally of 5800 points to make the cut for the continental meet, starting in Doha on April 21.
In 2017, recurring back pain had almost dashed Swapna’s hopes of competing in the London World Championships. She was on the verge of pulling out, but battled pain to score 5431 points, eventually finishing 26th. Injury had kept her out of action in 2015 and 2016. On a comeback in 2017, she won gold in the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar, scoring 5942 points.
Why is she injury prone? “Sometimes it’s difficult to make an assessment of what goes wrong. But we try our best to stay fit,” said Sarkar.