Karnam Malleswari (born 1 June 1975) is a retired

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lif ...

. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics in 2000. In 1994, she received the Arjuna Award and in 1999, she received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour, and the civilian

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

award.

Career

Malleswari won the world title in the 54 kg division in 1994 and 1995 and placed third in 1993 and 1996. In 1994, she won silver at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

and in 1995 she won the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Korea in the 54 kg category. That year, she won the title in China with a record lift of 113 kg at the

. Even before her Olympic win, Malleswari was a two-time weightlifting world champion with 29 international medals, which includes 11 gold medals. Along with the national and international medals, Malleswari was also awarded with Arjuna Award in 1994, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1999, and

in 1999. At the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, Malleswari lifted 110 kg in the "snatch" and 130 kg in the "clean and jerk" categories for a total of 240 kg. She won the bronze medal and became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.Ganguly, Meenakshi (27 December 2000
Conversations: 'I Did What I Could For My Country'
''Time'' She is also the first Indian weightlifter, male or female, to win an Olympic medal. Her medal was the only medal that India secured in the 2000 Olympics.

Personal life

Malleswari was born in a Karnam family in Voosavanipeta near Amadalavalasa, a hamlet in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. She has four sisters and all are married and well settled in life. Malleshwari started her career when she was 12 and was trained under coach Neelamshetty Appanna. Her sister was married and living in Delhi, and Malleshwari moved to that city for better training when it became clear that she had the potential to become a great athlete. 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. In 1997, Malleshwari married fellow weightlifter Rajesh Tyagi. In 2001, one year after winning the Olympic bronze medal in her sport, she became a mother with the birth of a son. She planned to return to competitions at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

, but withdrew due to her father's death. She retired after failing to score at the 2004 Olympics.Malleswari lifts Indian Olympic hopes – ‘I’m enjoying my preparation for a second medal... I’m very hopeful’
''The Telegraph'' (8 July 2004) Karnam Malleshwari and Tyagi currently lives in

Yamunanagar Yamunanagar (), is a city and a municipal corporation in Yamunanagar district in the Indian state of Haryana. This town is known for the cluster of plywood units and paper industries. It provides timber to larger industries. The older town is ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

, with their son and in-laws in a joint family. She works at the

Food Corporation of India Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...

as Chief General Manager (General Administration). In June 2021, she was appointed as the vice-chancellor of Sports University, established by the

government of Delhi The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...

Awards

She is honoured with Arjuna award in 1994 .

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malleswari, Karnam People from Srikakulam district 1975 births Living people Indian female weightlifters Olympic weightlifters of India Olympic bronze medalists for India Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award Telugu people Weightlifters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2004 Summer Olympics People from Srikakulam Sportswomen from Andhra Pradesh Recipients of the Arjuna Award Olympic medalists in weightlifting Asian Games medalists in weightlifting Weightlifters at the 1994 Asian Games Weightlifters at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Asian Games silver medalists for India 20th-century Indian women 21st-century Indian women Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games People from Uttarandhra Sportspeople from Andhra Pradesh Weightlifters from Andhra Pradesh People from Andhra Pradesh Women from Andhra Pradesh