Top News
A woman body builder muscles her way into ‘men’s territory’
Gurgaon: Her bulging biceps, toned and muscular body are what most men would dream to have. Gurgaon-based Yashmeen Manak, who was recently adjudged Miss India 2016 at a bodybuilding competition, has now set her sights on winning international titles.
Manak, 37, won gold in both the Women’s Fitness and Women’s Physique category at a competition organised by the Indian Body Building and Fitness Federation (IBBFF).
In a conversation with IANS, Manak spoke about the odds she encountered on her path to make it big in the world of bodybuilding — a ‘men’s territory’ — and eventually shattered a series of stereotypes.
“I still don’t consider myself a celebrity,” said Manak, adding that she feels “overwhelmed by all the love and attention” she is receiving these days.
Manak, who runs Sculpt Gym in Sector-14, Gurgaon, is also an avid biker and rides the Royal Enfield Desert Storm 500.
She forayed into the world of fitness 20 years back when after an illness she put on a lot of weight. The taunts from friends and relatives prompted her to get back into shape with a vengeance.
“Those comments pierced me deep inside and I felt bad. I realised that I was losing shape,” Manak said.
She joined the gym at the age of 17 and stated with cardio workouts. “There was no awareness about fitness back then, especially with regard to women.”
“Initially, I did not know that even women can lift weights. I got a bit of an idea on this from a professional bodybuilder and I started weight training. But I had no plans to get into bodybuilding,” she said.
So what made her get serious about bodybuilding?
“When I realised that cardio sessions were gradually eating up my muscle mass, I decided to shape up my body in a certain way that would make me look curvy as well as strong.
“Five-six years back, I started lifting very heavy weights. My coach taught me all the basics, all the right techniques of heavy lifting. I was completely into power-lifting and bodybuilding,” Manak, who weighs 66 kg, said.
Manak asserts that like men, women can also lift heavy weights.
“Women can lift like men, it is just that women are not that strong; but once into weight-lifting, a woman can get stronger than the average man,” she said.
On the negative comments she faces, Manak said she has to deal with remarks like “You look like a man, you should look like a woman, do what women are supposed to do…”
“Initially, those angered me but I eventually realised that such men could not attain the level of fitness they desired. They could not digest the fact that a woman has succeeded in shaping up her physique, and the remarks reflected their frustration,” she added.
On the controversial subject of the usage of performance enhancing steroids, Manak said: “There is a lot of misinformation about steroids. Many people misuse it and suffer harmful side effects due to which some countries have banned its usage.”
“It is still a very debatable topic in which people stay mum and don’t want to talk about it…Even if someone is taking steroids, he or she has to work very hard and eat clean. You need to lead a very disciplined lifestyle. You can’t just take steroids, sit at home and see the results,” she said.
Manak revealed that she intends to compete in international arenas in future.
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
Content provided by Adverloom
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
Lockdowns in China Force Urban Communities to Defy Censorship and Vent Frustration Online
What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
