Indian women bodybuilders are ready to compete

This year, the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Competition 2014 will be held in Mumbai in December. A couple of weeks back, Leela Phad, a 31 year old female bodybuilder from Thane, arrived in Vadodara for the national trials. This is unusual, especially in our country where bodybuilding is mainly seen as a male sport.

After being selected for nationals, just a couple of weeks back, Phad is now preparing for the event. If she makes it through, she will be the first Indian woman to represent India at the international platform.

At the event, Phad along with Natasha Pradhan was highly applauded for their performance. Since bodybuilding is a completely male-dominated sport, Phad and Pradhan are just one of the six women who participated in the state trials in Maharashtra.

About her family’s reaction, Phad told DNA Analysis, “They know I am a trainer but they don’t know that I will be competing as a bodybuilder. They are conservative and don't like women wearing that particular attire (bikini) on stage. Apart from that they are angry that I have not taken up the secure job of sales tax inspector and instead pursuing sports. They want me to save and not spend”

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Pursuing this sport, which is already not popular for women in the country, can be highly expensive as the money spent on diet and intake of protein supplements, can be heavy on the pocket. Phad adds, “I spend a good amount, about Rs15,000, on my diet every month. It's a fix. You can't tinker with your diet if you want to have a good physique. Also, once you take it up, you cannot quit. Apart from my salary, which I get from training others, my sister chips in by giving a part of her salary which helps in taking care of my diet.”

Pradhan, who is a single parent, on the other hand wishes to prove the worth of women by competing in a male-dominated sport. She says, “There is a lot of pain involved, but when I think about the stage, the pain seems nothing. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to prove girls are better than boys. As women, we did not have a platform to showcase our talent. But now I feel I can do something more than what men can.”

ORIGINAL SOURCE: DNA Analysis

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-bodybuilding-and-women-changing-trends-in-male-dominated-sport-landscape-2027387