Indian weightlifter Karnam Malleswari holds the distinguished honour of being the first woman from India to win a medal at the Olympics.
Her career’s crowning achievement came at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Lifting 110kg and 130kg in the ‘snatch’ and ‘clean and jerk’ categories respectively to total 240kg, Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win a prestigious Olympic bronze medal.
Born in Andhra Pradesh’s Voosavanipeta hamlet, Karnam Malleswari began her training in the sport at the age of 12.
Before long, success came calling. Karnam Malleswari placed third in the World Championships in 1993 and then followed up with consecutive 54kg world titles in 1994 and 1995, before bookending her run with another third-place effort in 1996.
On two occasions, in 1994 and 1998, Karnam Malleswari narrowly missed on Asian Games gold medals, having to settle for silver instead.
The success built up momentum as she headed to Sydney for the Olympics. While she did her country proud by earning a bronze, Karnam Malleswari had mixed feelings. She felt she missed out on a gold due to a miscalculation within the Indian camp that suggested that she had to lift more than she needed for the top spot on the podium.
Picture Credit : Google
