Barman was born in Ghospara village near Jalpaiguri, West Bengal in 1996 in a poor Rajbongshi family.

[5] Her mother Basana worked on a tea estate and her father, Panchanan Barman, was a rickshaw driver and is bed-ridden after having suffered a stroke in 2013, making life tricky for his four children.

She found it difficult to find the right food[2] and her unusual feet caused her pain because she could not afford extra wide running shoes.

[7] Barman collapsed during the final event of the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's heptathlon[2] which was the 800 metres where she was fourth.

However Barman had broken many of her personal records[1] and she had gained enough points from the previous six events to take gold.