Assam weightlifter Pallavi Payeng balances motherhood, scripts silver comeback

Guwahati, March 31: When Pallavi Payeng’s daughter was just six months old, the weightlifter faced a difficult decision: to step away from the sport she loved or spend less time with her child and return to training.

With encouragement from her husband Sukhawon Thouwmung and support from her mother, who took care of the infant, Pallavi chose to resume her sporting career.

The decision paid off as she won a silver medal in the women’s 69kg category at the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games.

A member of the Mising tribe in Assam, Pallavi began weightlifting in 2018 and built her profile through medals at state championships.

Her progress, however, was interrupted by the Covid-19 lockdown, during which she embraced motherhood. Despite the break, her ambition to return to competition remained strong.

“The decision was not easy. Though there are many examples of women excelling internationally after becoming mothers, only a woman understands the challenges of regaining full fitness,” Pallavi said, according to SAI media.

“I left my baby when she was just six months old to return to training. It was emotional, but I felt it was the right time,” she said.

Her daughter, now four, splits time between Pallavi’s rented accommodation in Sarupathar and her grandmother’s home in Borpathar, about 20 km away in Golaghat district.

Pallavi said family support was crucial during her comeback. “My husband has been very supportive, and my mother ensures our child is well taken care of whenever I travel for competitions,” she said.

Her husband, a former national-level boxing medallist, is a driver with the Border Security Force and is currently posted in Jammu.

The return to competition was challenging. Pallavi finished sixth at the 2023 state championships in Golaghat. The following year in Dibrugarh, she struggled in a competition that stretched late into the night.

She persisted, and results followed. In 2025, she won silver at the state championships in Tezpur and secured gold in the ASMITA league the same year. She added another gold at this year’s ASMITA league.

The silver at the Khelo India Tribal Games in Raipur marked a turning point.

“This silver is a breakthrough moment in my career. It gives me the confidence that I belong at this level,” she said.

Sports Reporter