Fit and fantastic

Shweta Rathore has a thing for milestones. She is the first Indian female fitness physique athlete to win a medal (bronze in 2014) at the orld Championship. She is also the first dian woman to finish on the podium econd) at the Asian Championship in the scipline in 2015. Back in India, her mpetitors have accepted she is in a league of r own after she completed a hat trick of Miss dia titles in 2017. The Jaipur-born, Delhi ed and Mumbai-based Rathore has only ore goals in sight. Next stop-expand her mpany, Fitness Forever, to include apparel, acessories and nutritional supplement and nture into Bollywood.

Seated at a cafe in Mumbai where she is relishing poha laden with green chillies- they're good for burning fat she says-and chilli chicken, Rathore exudes positivity. She sports a toned, lean figure, not too muscular but plenty of strength. Tattoos make it stand out furthermore. Under her arms, the kamala mandala, on her wrists the symbol of wisdom and on her hips black rose. "A good number of people still call me a bodybuilder," she says. But Rathore intends to build awareness about her pursuit through endorsements, appearances and talks.

What's the price for a 24-inch waistline with defined abs that can make men insecure? "It's an expensive profession," she says. "You are not allowed to have pakodaor ice cream and late nights. You are basically not allowed to be an ordinary person, you have to be extraordinary. You have to be disciplined in your thoughts too." Instead Rathore's daily life includes a diet of supplements and nutritional food and sweating it out in the gym. Winning competitions is not enough to sustain the lifestyle, she adds, with athletes expected to fund their own travel and stay for participating in international ones. High costs include customising bejewelled bikini for competitions that can cost anywhere between `1 lakh and `1.5 lakh, hiring choreographers to put together 90 second routines and hair and make-up professionals.

Outmuscling the detractors

Rathore's interest in fitness emerged from a need to counter bullies back in Kendra Vidyalaya in Delhi who'd taunt her about her broad frame. At 14, she signed up for a gym, hiding her workout clothes in the school bag so as to not anger her father who felt it would result in too masculine a physique. "I wouldn't eat outside food," she says. "I have been sugar free since