Fulfilling a dream: Kommerla Tulasi

A woman from agriculture background metamorphosed herself as a weightlifter and is aspiring to be a winner in World Weightlifting Championships slated to be held in Ashgabat in Turkmenistan in November this year. Even though she won 35 gold medals in National and State level events till now, she is longing to be a winner of an international event for getting fame to her motherland.

Kommerla Tulasi, 28, is from a small village Ramalingapuram, Dagadarthi Mandal, Nellore. Her father is a goldsmith by profession and they had a small piece of agriculture land in the village, where Tulasi used to work hard along with her father. Villagers, who observed her physical stamina suggested her father to join her in any sports. He then suggested Tulasi to give a try in weightlifting and admitted her in Sports Academy of Vijayawada in order to improve her professional techniques. Under the guidance of Thomas Peters in Vijayawada and Amaranath in Eluru, she started practising weightlifting.

She had won the first gold medal in November 2001 in Rural Nationals and continued her journey. Gold medal at State Level in 2002, Silver medal in Junior Nationals, Gold in Junior Nationals in 2007 and Gold in Senior Nationals in 2009 and was a participant in International Senior Asian Championships in 2008. She was awarded the Strong Woman of India award twice at the country level and also one time at State Level.  

Now, she is practising powerlifting to participate in the World Championships besides teaching the sport to 15 students in Nellore as she has been appointed as a coach on a contract basis by the District Sports Authority last year.

“Major predicament to rural women in weightlifting is their financial conditions. This is not an ordinary sport and needs good nutritious food and the family has to bear it. I received a cash incentive of only Rs 15,000 when I had bagged Gold in Nationals in 2007. Even though secured five gold medals at the National level, no support has been extended by the State government to encourage me,” says Tulasi. 

She humbly says, “Only a few philanthropists are supporting my passion of winning a medal in an international event. Sportspersons, who won medals in Olympics are being encouraged with cash incentives and lucrative government posts, there should be a consideration for people who won at Nationals too, at least for their livelihood through offering employment as lower cadre staff members. But, this is not being done which is a major setback for many sportspersons.”

She is happy that the District Sports Authority had offered her coach position on contract basis for fulfilling her long-awaited dream.