“If you have bigger muscles than Men, it will be difficult for you to find a match for marriage,” this particular statement is a generic reaction to India’s most decorated female Physique athlete Shweta Rathore, at any given social event. Not adhering to these taunts, she created history in 2014, by becoming the country’s first woman to win a World Championship event.
Her marquee success came in Thailand, where she was crowned ‘Miss World 2014 Fitness Physique,’ after defeating participants from 35 different countries. The very next year, she followed it up by winning silver at the Asian Championship, highlighting her credentials as one of the world’s finest.
From Engineer to fitness sensation: An unsung journey
The 27-year old’s journey so far has created a path for future talent to follow. However, the road to success came with its fair share of obstacles. She said, “I had no intent of becoming a body-builder per se in the beginning. I’m a trained Engineer, and I always planned to get into that particular. Going to the gym was a constant in my life, ever since the 11th grade.”
Shweta’s initial foray towards a regular fitness regime was met with stern resistance. She would make the excuse of attending tuition, but would go the gym instead. She added, “In the beginning my father was completely against me going to train. So I used to bunk tuitions. However, over time he realised how passionate I was and my family also became very supportive.”
The current Miss Fitness Physique India, she has already booked a spot at this year’s World and Asian Championship. But her personal goal for women’s bodybuilding remains a holistic notion. She said, “I want to do more than just compete. Being very honest when I started I had no clue how to go about things, I used to watch Youtube videos, go to online forums, this was my way of learning. But I don’t want the same for other girls in India. I want to create a channel of my own for them.”
Even an attempt to create such infrastructure requires sponsors, but unlike Men’s bodybuilding the tournaments aren’t as lucrative. For winning the National Championship, Shweta received only Rs 50,000, whereas her male counterparts receive Rs 5 lakhs for winning any private tournament.
Being a world champion, I still spent Rs 20 lakhs from my own pocket: Rathore
Shweta said, “There are no sponsors in women’s body-building, the Men have a lot of sponsors as they sport is more popular among them. For the longest time I didn’t have a single sponsor, but now I have a company called Muscletech, who partially cover my expenses. Till now I have already spent Rs 20 lakhs from my own pocket. Being a World Champion, I would have liked the support, but it’s also my fault that I didn’t approach them.”
Based in Mumbai, Shweta receives daily gazes, while walking on the road. Cars stop to check whether it’s an actual living being. She added, “Some people say it’s too much muscle, others say you will never get married, people are disgusted, but I honestly don’t care. I don’t care because they are uneducated about the sport, once they’re educated they will realise the effort and sacrifices it takes one person to reach this level.”
There have been cases, where she dissuaded from lifting weights. She added, “I was ridiculed while practicing a lot, but over time I realised that I must stay focussed. There is a lot of ego involved, with women’s bodybuilding there is hardly any as the small community are learning from each other, and our performances highlight that.”
To help other women take up body-building, Shweta has conceptualised her own brand called Fitness Forever. The basic goal of his particular company is to create a seamless transition phase for potential talent. She said, “My sport requires not just grooming of the body, but also to know what to wear, how to carry one self and of course proper exercises. The company will look at giving them a platform, through which they can compete in international tournaments, if they’re that good.”
Apart from developing the sport in India, Shweta is also interested in developing the ‘Fitness celebrity’ genre here. She said, “For us to come into the mainstream, we must be recognised by the mass. The only way that’s going to happen is if we ourselves become celebrities. So my goal is to also become a fitness celebrity, so that more people get to know. In western countries, this is a very common terminology; it is yet to arrive here.”
Having charted the road less travelled, Jaipur’s Shweta Rathore has put Indian women’s body-building on the world map. Her fight to put the sport within India’s mind space will motivate women across the country to break the societal construct of ‘gender-roles’.
