Archana Surendran, an 18- year-old, has proved that determination can take you places. Born and raised in Kakkanad, Kochi, Archana won bronze in the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championship in Kazakhstan this month.
A Karate black belt holder, it has only been two years since Archana started recognising her potential in powerlifting. After participating in many State and National competitions, she qualified for the Commonwealth Games in Canada, but was not able to participate due to the lack of financial support. Later, she got the chance to attend the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championship in Kazakhstan, in which she won a bronze in squat (145 kg), a silver in bench (80 kg) and a bronze in dead-lift (140 kg), which won her an overall bronze in the sub junior category. She also got a gold in the State Bench Press Championship at Wayanad, winning the title “Strong Woman of Kerala.”
“It was my parents who supported me mentally as well as financially, suffering hardships to fight for my dream,” says Archana. It was not a simple task for her father, who is an auto driver, to meet the expenses and to provide her with all the equipment and a suitable diet. Even though she didn’t have a sponsor, she had a number of well wishers, who helped her achieve her dream.
Challenging
“Kazakhstan was really challenging; it was extremely cold and I had to compete with experienced players who were used to the weather condition.The absence of my coach, Ajith S Nair and bogged me down a bit,” she says.
But Archana hopes to take part in the World Championship, taking lessons from all these experiences.
“There are a number of people who don’t understand our struggle to support her dream, but we are so proud of her achievements that she herself is a motivation for us. It is disappointing that she is not getting the recognitions she deserves,” says her mother, Sandhya Surendran. “We used to spend days, literally begging, for a sponsor when we faced financial crisis and at moments we even prayed for her failure so that we wouldn’t have to arrange more money.”
Despite all these hurdles, Archana is determined to have a better future, aspiring to be a civil servant. Even though the practice sections have affected her study hours, this twelfth standard Humanities student of St.Teresa’s Convent Girls Higher Secondary School hopes to make up for it, with the help of her supportive teachers. “Sports is my passion but I learned that life without education is of no value especially for some one like me from a poor background. I want to prove that talent matters, not money,” says Archana.
