Karnam Malleswari First Indian Woman Olympic Medalist

From Humble Beginnings to Olympic Glory: The Inspiring Tale of Karnam Malleswari

Karnam Malleswari, an Indian weightlifter, is regarded as the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics.

At the Olympics in Sydney in 2000, she achieved her greatest success in her career. Lifting 110kg and 130kg in the ‘clean and jerk’ categories respectively to add up to 240kg, Karnam Malleswari turned into the first Indian lady to win a prestigious Olympic bronze medal.

Her historic feat made her instantly a household name, and the general public named her “The Iron Lady.” She was the only Indian weightlifter to have won an Olympic medal.

She asserts, “This medal didn’t feel like mine, but the whole country’s.” Later that day, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee called me. He praised me and referred to me as “Bharat ki beti,” which means “daughter of India.”

Success came calling soon after. Karnam Malleswari finished third at the World Championships in 1993. She then won two more World Championships at 54 kg in 1994 and 1995, ending her career with a third-place finish in 1996.

Karnam Malleswari narrowly missed out on gold medals at the Asian Games in 1994 and 1998, having to settle for silver.

The achievement gathered speed as she went to Sydney for the Olympics. Karnam Malleswari had mixed feelings about earning a bronze medal, even though she did her country proud. She thought she had missed out on a gold because the Indian camp had made a mistake and thought she had to lift more than she needed to get to the top of the podium.

Malleswari intended to return at the Commonwealth Games in 2002. In any case, the unfortunate downfall of her dad put paid to those plans.

At the 2004 Olympics in Greece, she devised a second return, but the results were unimpressive, so she gave up on her career.

She received a number of prestigious awards from the Indian government along the way, including the Arjuna Award in 1994, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1999, and the Padma Shri in 1999.

Karnam Malleswari was born in 1969 in the hamlet of Voosavanipeta in Andhra Pradesh. She was the youngest child among six. Her mother was a homemaker, while her father was a farmer. Karnam Malleswari was a fiery youngster and cherished playing sports. She also had a lot of strength and could easily lift heavy things. She was encouraged to start weightlifting by her mother, who hoped it would help her stay fit and strong. Karnam Malleswari started her preparation in the game at 12 years old.

Karnam Malleswari married Rajesh Tyagi, a weightlifter from India, in 1997, and the couple had a son in 2001. Today, she lives in Haryana, working all day in a managerial job for Food Corporation of India.

Beside that, Karnam Malleswari likewise established the Karnam Malleswari Foundation, a first-of-its-kind weightlifting and powerlifting academy with an end goal to see her cherished game thrive in India.