Bornali Devi after the felicitation on Wednesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, March 19: It was three years back that Bornali Devi arrived in Guwahati from a remote village in Morigaon with the aim of giving a lift to her career.

Bornali’s career soared when she lifted 80kg to set a national record in the recently concluded National Power-lifting Championships in Mumbai.

The Powerlifting Association of Assam felicitated the “iron lady of Assam” on her achievement.

Bornali will now be representing the country in the Asian Powerlifting Championships to be held in Hong Kong in December.

“She has the capacity to earn an Olympic gold medal for the country. We will do our best to groom her,” said P.K. Bhowmick, secretary of the association.

He said the association has already contacted Malay Mandal, one of the best coaches in the country, to prepare Bornali for the Hong Kong meet.

Bornali said she has not achieved much till now and the lift at Mumbai was just the beginning of the kind of career she was looking forward to.

“I have struggled a lot and am ready to keep working hard till I make my state and my country proud,” she said.

It was three years of struggle for Bornali since the day she landed up in Guwahati. She stays with her brother at a rented house.

“Financially, I have nothing. Sometimes my brother and I have to skip meals,” she said.

Bornali’s coach, Jun Borkakoti, came up with the necessary help to motivate her to continue with her career.

“I saw the determination in her eyes when she first came to me. With a little bit of professional grooming she will definitely become a world class lifter,” said Barkakoti.

Back home, Bornali had to travel everyday to train at a club in Morigaon town, which had limited resources. There she had to train along with boys.

“I was the only girl to visit the weightlifting club in Morigaon. Sometimes I had to face awkward situations but continued against all odds, till I decided to shift to Guwahati,” she said.

The president of the Assam Powerlifting Association, Dalim Pathak, said the association would make an appeal to the government and the Railways to provide Bornali with a job so that it becomes easier for her to pursue her dream.

The association, on its part, today awarded a cash prize of Rs 5,000 to Bornali.

Pathak said the association has been providing scholarships to powerlifters from time to time since it was necessary to motivate the lifters.

“Athletes from Assam, in the last 15 years, have excelled in the field of powerlifting,” he said.

Kailash Sharma, president of the North East Powerlifting Association, said his association has decided to provide 10 scholarships to powerlifters from the state. “This is the only sports where Assam can earn an Olympic medal in the near future,” he said.