Highlights
- Dr Maya Rathod is a Sydney-based gynaecologist and is researching IVF.
- She has a Black Belt in martial arts.
- Dr Rathod has participated in bodybuilding contests in Australia and India.
She faced every possible challenge that life could throw at her, but she was resolute and determined to prove that an Indian woman can not only compete in Australia but also win.
On 28 March, this Sydney-based gynaecologist and mother-of-two, Maya Rathod, won the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFFB) 2021 Australasian Championship in the Figure Novice category.
The 29-year-old doctor, originally from India’s western state of Maharashtra, defeated 10 bodybuilders in her category. The competition was held in Sydney.
Dr Maya Rathod after winning the first prize in IFBB Australia 2021 Australasian Championship in 'Figure Novice' category. Source: Source: Supplied by Dr Maya Rathod
Dr Rathod’s interest in participating in this competition was spiked by a meeting she had with a senior official of IFFB last year.
Before she moved to Australia in March 2020, she represented her home state in bodybuilding championships in India.
Dr Rathod trained for over the years and stood second in the Mumbai Shree and the Maharashtra Shree bodybuilding competitions in Mumbai in 2020.
She also qualified for the national competition. But before she could participate at the national level, she left India for Australia.
An avid sportsperson, she was curious about how athletes trained in Australia.
Dr Maya Rathod with her winning trophy. Source: Source: Supplied by Dr Maya Rathod
“The official was surprised to see me. She said the despite Sydney’s large Indian population, she had never seen any woman from the community compete in bodybuilding in the past 25 years,” she tells SBS Hindi.
Dr Rathod, who came to Australia for her research work on in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), said this was the “exact moment that made her jump into the competition”.
“I wanted to prove that an Indian woman can also do it. At least the organisers would remember me that someone from India had come and competed here,” Dr Rathod said.
Adding that as she took this challenge upon herself, she thought, “now that I'm here, I will return home only after winning the competition”.
Dr Maya Rathod with her husband Amit Bobade and their two daughters. Source: Supplied by Dr Maya Rathod.
“I couldn’t get that IFFB official’s comment out of my head, so I decided to do it for India and all the Indian women. It has to be done and it will be done, I told myself,” she recalls.
But it was easier said than done.
Dr Rathod discussed the idea with her surgeon husband Amit Bobade, parents and friends.
Everyone encouraged her but left the final decision to her. Dr Rathod knew what she was getting into.
She had to squeeze in time for training from her already packed schedule that included hospital visits, research work, looking after a 10-year-old and another four-year-old, apart from running the household.
Dr. Rathod’s decision was expectedly tough.
Dr Maya Rathod won the second prize at Maharashtra Shree 2020 bodybuilding championship. Source: Source: Supplied by Dr Maya Rathod
She says she became a “robot” for the next eight months.
Dr. Rathod would train from 4 am to 7 am and then drop her elder daughter to school at 7.45 am. She would then return home to cook for the family leave for hospital and research work.
After a long day, after putting her children to bed, she would train again from 10 pm to 1am, barely sleeping for three hours on weekdays.
“I used to catch up on my sleep over the weekends or on days that my husband was at home to look after the household,” she said.
“In India, we have the luxury of domestic help and support of our family and relatives. Here, you have to cook and
clean yourself,” she adds.
Dr Rathod thanks her husband and friends in Australia for making this victory possible.
Dr Maya Rathod again bagged the second prize at Mumbai Shree 2020 bodybuilding championship. Source: Source: Supplied by Dr Maya Rathod
Her story doesn’t end here.
Dr. Rathod is also a Black Belt in Taekwondo-Kickboxing.
She said she was always interested in sports. She wanted to play cricket.
But her father, who worked as the managing director of Mumbai’s famous Film City studios, where Bollywood movies are often shot, wanted his four children to pursue rewarding careers.
“Women's cricket was not popular back then,” Dr Rathod recollects.
Abiding by their father’s direction, three of his children are doctors and his eldest daughter is an engineer in the US.
But Dr Rathod credits her success in bodybuilding to her mother.
“My mother was very supportive. She would tell my father that I had gone to dance class whereas I would be in Taekwondo competitions,” Dr Rathod says.
She won three gold medals at her school-level competitions and was judged the best athlete in school for two consecutive years.
How did bodybuilding, considered a male bastion, attract her?
Dr Maya Rathod holds Black Belt in marshal arts. Source: Supplied by Dr Maya Rathod.
Dr Rathod says that after the birth of her first daughter in 2010, she wanted to lose some weight.
She began with routine exercises. This is when her friend, Shrikant Dulum introduced her to bodybuilding.
He would take her to competitions, where she met India’s top bodybuilders.
“It built my interest in bodybuilding. My endurance level was very good and I asked coaches if I could join. They said my body frame was perfect,” she recalls.
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