Raipur, March 30 – When Pallavi Payeng's daughter was just six months old, the weightlifter had to make a difficult choice: either leave the sport she loved or sacrifice her time with her daughter and return to training.
Her husband, Sukhawon Thouwmung, then agreed to pursue her dream, while her mother offered to take care of the infant. Pallavi made all these sacrifices count, winning a silver medal in the women's 69kg category at the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games here.
Pallavi, belonging to the Mising tribe in Assam, had begun her weightlifting journey in 2018 and steadily built a reputation by winning medals at state championships. However, the Covid-19 lockdown disrupted her progress. During that period, she embraced motherhood, but her desire to return to the weightlifting platform remained strong.
However, the thought of returning to the sport after childbirth was both exciting and daunting. "It's not easy. While there have been many examples of women succeeding on the international stage after becoming mothers, only a woman can understand what she needs to go through to return to full fitness," Pallavi said 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," Pallavi said, whose daughter, now four, spends time between Pallavi's rented accommodation in Sarupathar and her grandmother's home in Borpathar, about 20 kilometers away in Golaghat district.
This 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 her 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 for the Border Security Force (BSF) and is currently posted in Jammu.
However, despite all this support, her 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 concluded.
