Sameeksha Gandhi, a 46-year-old Assamese fitness instructor and bodybuilder, has earned a spot in the prestigious international competition "Sheru Classic," which will take place in Delhi in June 2023.

This competition is honouring Sheru Aangrish, Asia's second professional bodybuilder who revolutionised the bodybuilding scene in India.

The competition will feature some of the best male and female bodybuilders and fitness competitors from across the world.

At 38, eight years ago, Sameeksha Gandi was experiencing cervical issues as a result of her long hours as an executive for an MNC in Delhi. Because of this medical condition, achieving this feat was simply unthinkable.

Gandhi required a collar belt for her neck and a lumbar belt to support her back.

Once, Gandhi was India’s No 5 in the U14 group lawn Tennis and held the No 2 rank in Assam for seven years in a row.

On being diagnosed with cervical issues, the athlete in Gandhi came alive and she decided to literally take matters into her own hands.

Her dreams of becoming a professional athlete were dashed by a back injury and slipped disc, so she had to settle for a desk job.

With a lot of scepticism, she walked right into a gym to get back in shape like she used to be when she played sports. She wasn't sure if the rigours of the gym would be effective for her given her age and medical issues. But she made significant progress in just six months, thanks to her perseverance and training from an experienced coach.

She thoroughly enjoyed her training and left her secure MNC job to pursue her dream of becoming a certified trainer (certification of Golds and ACSM).

She now uses her offline and online training programmes to assist individuals worldwide in achieving their fitness objectives.

Sameeksha Gandhi also hopes that by telling her story, society will change for the better.

She hopes that a lot more girls will choose to pursue bodybuilding as a career.

"There is a misconception that women who work out at the gym develop large muscles and begin to resemble men. We do not need to do so much training but must be focused on the cardio activities," Gandhi told India Today NE in an interview.

"There are categories in bodybuilding where you don't have to grow big muscles," she added.

In addition to bodybuilding, she has recently taken up marathon running. As someone who completed her first marathon at the age of 44, Gandhi asserts that bodybuilding and running go hand in hand.

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