Karnam Malleswari Is The First Indian Woman To Win Medal At Olympics

Indian weight lifter Karnam Malleswari created history by winning the award at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics in 2000. Karnam Malleswari lifted 110kg and 130kg in the ‘snatch’ and ‘clean and jerk’ categories respectively to total 240kg and won Bronze Medal in Olympics.

After winning the award, she said, "This medal didn’t feel my own, but the whole country’s." Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee congratulated Karnam Malleswari and called her "Bharat ki beti".

Today on the occasion of Karnam Malleswari's birthday, let us have a look at some interesting facts about the Indian weightlifter.

Early Life:

Karnam Malleswari was born in a Karnam family in Voosavanipeta near Amadalavalasa, Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. She has four sisters. She started her career when she was 12 and was trained under coach Neelamshetty Appanna. Later Malleshwari moved to Delhi for better training. Her talent was soon spotted by the Sports Authority of India. In 1990, Malleshwari joined the national camp and four years later, she became the weight-lifting world championship winner in the 54-kg class.

Awards:

Karnam Malleswari won the world title in the 54 kg division in 1994 and 1995 and placed third in 1993 and 1996. She also won silver at the World Championships in Istanbul in 1994 and in 1995 she won the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Korea in the 54 kg category. She won the title in China with a record lift of 113 kg at the World Championships. She was honoured with Arjuna Award in 1994, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1999, and Padma Shri in 1999.

In 2000 at Sydney Olympics, she lifted 110 kg in the "snatch" and 130 kg in the "clean and jerk" categories for a total of 240 kg and won the Bronze medal. In the 2000 Olympics, the only award we won was that of Karnam Malleswari's.

Personal Life:

Malleshwari married fellow weightlifter Rajesh Tyagi. The couple was blessed with a son. She retired after failing to score at the 2004 Olympics. She works at the Food Corporation of India as Chief General Manager. She was appointed as the vice-chancellor of Sports University, established by the government of Delhi in June 2021.

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