Powerpuff girl with 12 toes fulfils her dream in Jakarta

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Her name in her native language means dream, and Swapna Barman fulfilled hers on the track and field during the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta.

The Indian girl overcame innumerable hurdles and knocked down quite a few long odds to win the gold medal in the toughest women's event in track and field, the heptathlon. Her long strides, giant leaps and long throws that catapulted her to the highest spot on the podium were nothing but a result of guts, grit and her unbridled passion for glory.

She was born in a poor tribal family in the eastern state of West Bengal. Her father was a rickshaw puller with a meager income. Her fight against poverty began at an early age, but being born with six toes on each foot, almost shattered her dream of pursuing track and field sports.

"Normal shoes don't work for me. There is lot of pain when I wear any shoe, spikes or anything," she informed the media after clinching gold on Wednesday.

"I hope they make special shoes for me because I have a lot of pain. Even warm-up shoes hurt, so forget about spikes."

Swapna Barman of India celebrates after winning women's heptathlon 800m gold medal during the 2018 Asian Games on August 29 in Jakarta, Indonesia. /VCG Photo

The 21-year-old has been grappling with a series of injuries for a long time and her coach Subhash Sarkar told CGTN over phone that, "Doctors told her to undergo surgery at least a year ago but we didn't go for it since we feared that she might have to miss the Asian Games."

"That's why she has been taking pain-killing injections over the past few months to heal the pain temporarily as there was no other way that she could have taken part in her event in Jakarta."

She was on the verge of giving up the sport in 2015, when she disappeared from the sports hostel she was staying and returned home. But her coach Sarkar convinced her to make a comeback.

A string of ankle and back injuries kept her out for most of this year, but Barman came back in time to finish second in India's Asian Games qualifiers.

On Wednesday night, her feet were not her only concern as she also had to contend with acute toothache.

Swapna Barman of India celebrates with Yuki Yamasaki of Japan after women's heptathlon 800m race during the 2018 Asian Games on August 29 in Jakarta, Indonesia. /VCG Photo

"I used to eat a lot of chocolates so have a lot of pain in one of my teeth before the start of the competition," Barman said after winning the historic gold for her country, while wearing heavy strapping on her chin and recording a personal best score of 6,026.

Barman quit her full-time job with the Indian railways in order to stay focused on the 2018 Asian Games. Her father is now an invalid and she, being the sole-breadwinner of her family, has been pursuing her dream with a small amount of stipend money.

"Just for this gold I kept my entire athletics career at stake. I was grappling with so many different injuries my body almost gave up. I thought this would be the last tournament in my career and I was prepared to give my best before the final hurrah. I am happy that my dream has been fulfilled."