The most transformative and life-defining moments in one’s life emanate from simple desires and wishes. The story of Ashwini Waskar is testament to this fact as her simple desire to lose weight saw her transform from a former fisheries researcher to India’s first competitive, female bodybuilder. A native of Pen in Raigad, she completed her post-graduation course in fisheries and came to Mumbai in 2009, taking up a temporary job as a senior research fellow at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology.
Unhappy with her body weight, she joined a gym in 2012, where her growing passion for fitness saw her taking a course in basic personal training, clearing the advanced and master levels. While she was simply a fitness enthusiast with no ambition for a career in bodybuilding initially, a visit to her village in February 2013 changed everything. She went to a local gym called Hanuman Vyayamshala where the owner Rajesh Angad was surprised to see her perform the same routines as the male bodybuilders. She also witnessed a male body-building competition which motivated her to take up bodybuilding. “An announcement was being made there about the first upcoming national level female bodybuilding competition and they were asking if anybody wants to participate. So I thought ‘why not give it a try?” Ashwini told Mirror UK.
She received support from her conservative parents, with her father even going so far as to allow her to wear the somewhat minimal attire required for bodybuilding. “He said there was nothing wrong in exposing your body for a sport that demands contestants to be similarly attired,” she told Dailymail UK in 2014. She has already participated in a national event where she came 5th and is said to have taken part in seven international competitions. Ashwini now faces the challenge of raising enough money to meet her fitness needs, with her supplements costing as much as Rs. 20,000 per month. Ashwini also hopes to marry someone who has an open enough mindset that doesn’t stop her from pursuing bodybuilding.