Donbor Rumnong’s name was loudly cheered across Mawlai Nongkwar after he returned home after winning a bronze medal from a bodybuilding event in Vietnam, the WFF Pro-Am Asia Pacific Championship.
The tournament was held from October 12 to 15 at Ho Chi Minh City and was organised by the World Fitness Federation.
A banker by profession, Rumnong has several achievements under his belt, such as being Mr India 2019 Overall Champion (Men’s Physique).
To prepare for the international event, Rumnong had to train for eight months and, though he has added another trophy to his cabinet, he is now preparing for the International Bodybuilding Championship that will be held in Mumbai next week.
A huge inspiration for the Meghalayan was one of the most famous bodybuilders of recent decades, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“Since I was a child, I always admired Arnold and I would always ask my father how to achieve a physique like that. As parents, they would always say eat lots of vegetables and a lot of food. As years passed by, I was anxious about why my body wasn’t able to achieve that physique, so my father advised me to join the gym,” Rumnong explained.
It was in 2010 that he joined a gym and began competing in tournaments three years later.
Although there are numerous challenges in his chosen sport, perhaps surprisingly the biggest ones are away from the actual competition.
“The main challenge is juggling work and bodybuilding. Another challenge is also trying to manage my diet when at work,” Rumnong, who also works as a personal trainer, said.
There is often much spoken about career pathways in sport – while ministers and civil servants are keen to refer to sports as a career option in the modern world, many Meghalayan athletes point out that the options are actually few in reality.
However, for Rumnong, success at events like Vietnam helps increase demand for his personal training services.
“The advantage of me participating in these tournaments is that I’m creating a brand for myself and recognition. After being recognised, people who need a personal trainer reach out and there is so much scope now,” he said.
