Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], March 30 : When Pallavi Payeng's daughter was just six months old, the weightlifter had to make a difficult choice to either leave the sport she loved so much or sacrifice her time with her daughter and go back to training.
As Pallavi struggled to make a decision between choosing her training or spending time with her daughter, her husband Sukhawon Thouwmung then egged to pursue her dream while her mother offered to take care of the infant. Pallavi made all those sacrifices count as she bagged the silver medal in the women's 69kg category at the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games.
Belonging to the Mising Tribe in Assam, Pallavi had begun her weightlifting journey in 2018 and steadily built a reputation by winning medals at the state championships. But the COVID-19 lockdown disrupted her progress. During that phase, life moved in a different direction as she embraced motherhood, but the desire to return to the weightlifting platform was still burning bright.
But the thought of returning to the sport after childbirth was both exciting and daunting.
"It is not easy. Though there have been numerous examples of women shining in the international stage after becoming mothers, only a woman can understand what she needs to go through to return to full fitness," said Pallavi to SAI Media.
"I left my baby when she was just six months old to return to training. It was an emotional decision, but I felt it was the right time to restart," said Pallavi, whose daughter, now four, divides her time between Pallavi's rented accommodation at Sarupathar and her grandmother's home in Borpathar, around 20 kilometres away in Golaghat district.
That decision meant long hours away from her child and countless moments when Pallavi questioned whether she had made the right choice. But the support of her family ensured she never felt alone in the journey.
"My husband has been very supportive throughout, while my mother ensures the little one is taken proper care whenever I travel for competitions," she said.
Pallavi's husband, a former national-level boxing medallist, works as a driver with the Border Security Force (BSF) and is currently posted in Jammu.
But despite all this support the comeback was anything but smooth. Pallavi's first attempt after childbirth came in the 2023 state championships in Golaghat, where she finished sixth. The following year in Dibrugarh brought frustration as the competition stretched late into the night, and she struggled to find her rhythm.
But she persisted. In 2025, she finally began to see the rewards of her determination. At the state championships in Tezpur, she claimed a silver medal and then went on to win the gold in the ASMITA league the same year. Another gold at this year's ASMITA league confirmed that she was steadily returning to her best.
The silver medal at the Khelo India Tribal Games in Raipur, however, felt different.
"The Khelo India Tribal Games silver is a breakthrough moment for my career, as this gives me the confidence that I belong to this level," she signed off.
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