By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: Bhumika Sharma from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, won the Miss World title at the recent World Bodybuilding Championship held in Venice, Italy.
The 21-year-old woman accomplished this feat after scoring the maximum points in three categories – individual posing, body posing and fall.
“The Indian squad had 27 members. I was the lone woman bodybuilder. I gained enough points in all the three rounds and made the country proud,” Bhumia told Hindi Hindustan while talking about the event that saw participation of 50 competitors from across the world.
Bhumika is not just another Miss World from India. She is a girl with muscle power. She now aspires to win the Miss Universe title for bodybuilding, which is slated to be held in December this year.
With the latest win, Bhumika has debunked the myth that bodybuilding is largely a male-dominated sport and only men can excel at it.
Barely few Indian men have made to the final stages of the World bodybuilding competitions and very few of them have won it. The Indian society barely lets its women work in offices because it thinks females are less superior to men. But that sick 19th century mentality will not help a developing country like India to progress, people such as Bhumika prove. The country needs women like her in every sector to contribute to help its growth.
Bhumika’s passion for bodybuilding intensified after meeting a bodybuilding coach. Earlier, her parents wanted her to pursue her career in shooting. Bhumika is the only child of her parents. Though it was difficult for her to convince her parents, seeing her passion, they decided to back Bhumika in her decision.
There is a rigorous schedule behind her success. She spends around 7 hours a day at the gym. Besides that, her mother Hansa Manral Sharma shares tips with her from time to time. Hansa is the head coach of the India women’s weightlifting team while Bhumika’s father Vishwavijay Sharma is a businessman.
Bhumika’s achievement will inspire many young girls across the country to do something similar and win big on the global stage for the country. Bhumika says one feels happiness by winning international accolades that makes the country proud. “Making all your people proud is probably the best feeling in the world,” she adds.
Various female icons such as Chanda Kochar, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Mithali Raj, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza, P V Sindhu and Priyanka Chopra have made it big across the globe. Bhumika has joined the elite list of women achievers.
Bhumika had initially taken to shooting and wanted to grow in that profession. But eventually, she opted for bodybuilding after a chance meeting with an inspiring coach.
Bhumika is not the only female who has done India proud with bodybuilding ability. There were others before her who have also taken the tougher route and flexed their muscles.
One of them Sarita Devi won the bronze medal in the world bodybuilding championship in 2015.