Khelo India Tribal Games 2026: Pallavi Payeng Clinches Silver Medal In Inspiring Comeback After Motherhood

Add as a preferred source on Google

Raipur, March 30: Assam lifter Pallavi Payeng won silver in the women's 69kg class at the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games. The Mising Tribe athlete began lifting in 2018, earned state medals, then saw her rise halted by the Covid-19 lockdown and motherhood.

Her daughter is now four years old and shares time between Pallavi's rented room in Sarupathar and her grandmother's house in Borpathar, about 20 kilometres away in Golaghat district. Her husband, former national boxing medallist Sukhawon Thouwmung, works as a BSF driver in Jammu.

Pallavi's first meet after childbirth was the 2023 state championships in Golaghat, where she finished sixth. The next year in Dibrugarh, a late-running event disrupted her rhythm. In 2025, she took state silver at Tezpur and gold at the ASMITA league, then another ASMITA gold this year.

She said the Raipur silver felt different and called it a key career moment, adding, "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." That belief followed a hard emotional decision.

Pallavi chose to resume training when her baby was six months old, leaving the child with her mother. She told SAI Media, "It's not easy. Though there have been numerous examples of women shining in the international stage after becoming mothers, only a woman can understand what she needs to go through to return to full fitness."

She added, "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." She said her husband stayed supportive while her mother ensured proper care during travel.