Dandamudi Rajagopal Rao (16 October 1916 - 6 August 1981) was an Indian weightlifter, bodybuilder, actor, sports administrator and coach. He won a bronze medal in the

1951 Asian Games The 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games (), were a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Games received names like First Asiad, 1951 Asiad, and New Dehli 1951 (). A total of 489 athl ...

in men's heavyweight (+90 kg) weightlifting.

Sports achievements

In 1946, he won 1st place in weightlifting at the XII Olympic Sports Event of India held in Bangalore, for the heavyweight class. He annexed Kerala title in 1942 and the Bombay provincial honours in 1944 breaking all the previous records. He represented India in International competitions held in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

in 1947. He won gold medal in Indian Olympic Sports Event held at Delhi in 1952. He lifted 780 pounds in the Heavyweight Category. In 1954 Indian Olympic Sports Event he won Gold medal again and established three records. He was the 1st Indian Weightlifting Champion and held the title continuously for 13 years from 1945 to 1958. He won Mr. Asia title in 1948 at Calcutta at the Asian bodybuilding competition. He won a bronze medal in

in men's heavyweight (+90 kg) weightlifting which remains one of the best performances by an Indian weightlifter considering the strong field of countries participating. He represented India thrice at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

, in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

(finishing

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. It is the fourth power of two. In English speech, the numbers 16 and 60 are sometimes confused, as they sound similar. Mathematics 16 is the ninth composite number, and a sq ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

(finishing 6th) and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

(finishing 9th). He was the founder and first President of Andhra Olympic Association. He was the captain of Andhra Olympic team. He helped found several other sports associations in Andhra Pradesh.

Kamineni Eswara Rao Kamineni Eswara Rao (26 August 1918 – 7 November 2007) was an Indian weightlifter. He competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officiall ...

was trained by Dandamudi in weightlifting. He established free gymnasia named Dandamudi Rajagopal Institutes, at locations across Krishna district to coach youngsters.

Honours & Popularity

Dandamudi was the first Indian to receive title of Mr. Asia. He was conferred with other titles such as Andhra Bhima, Andhra Hercules, Indian Tarzan and Giant of India. His feats attracted people from all over the country. One of his notable, dangerous and jaw dropping feats of strength which drew huge crowds were displays where he would break iron chains around his body by taking a deep breath and flexing his muscles.

Film career

Dandamudi has acted in several films. The most notable performance was in '' Nartanasala'' (1963), wherein he portrayed the role of

Bhima Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...

.Rajagopal Dandamudi at IMDb.
/ref> He also acted in ''

Bhimanjaneya Yuddham ''Bhimanjaneya Yuddham'' (transl. The war between Bhima and Anjaneya) is a 1966 Indian mythological film directed by S. D. Lal. It was produced by T. Ramakoteswara Rao under the banner Mahalakshmi Movies. The film was shot in Telugu. The stor ...

'' and ''Veeraabhimanyu''. In his short stint in the silver screen, Dandamudi acted alongside stalwarts like

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist, and politician who served as the Chief Minister o ...

Savitri Savitri or Savithri may refer to: In Hinduism * Savitri, with all vowels short, a Roman-phonetic spelling of the Rigvedic solar deity Savitr *Sāvitrī, a name of the ''Gayatri Mantra'' dedicated to Savitṛ *Savitri (goddess), the consort of Br ...

Shoban Babu Uppu Sobhan Babu (born Uppu Sobhana Chalapathi Rao; 14 January 1937 – 20 March 2008) was an Indian actor known for his work in Telugu cinema.Bangaru Panjaram in Venditera Paatalu, Krishnasastri Sahityam, third volume, Vishalandhra Publishing H ...

, S. V. Ranga Rao,

Kanta Rao Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao (16 November 1923 – 22 March 2009) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rao appeared in more than 400 feature films, ...

, Mukkamala and Mikkilineni.

Personal life

He was born on 16 October 1916 in Gandigunta village,

Krishna district Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is surrounded on the East by Bay of Bengal, West by Guntur district, Guntur, Bapatla distric ...

to a family of farmers. Impressed by the legendary bodybuilder

Kodi Rammurthy Naidu Kodi Rammurthy Naidu (also known as Rama Murti Naidu and Prof. Rammurty) was an Indian strongman, bodybuilder, and wrestler, celebrated for his exceptional strength and contributions to India's physical culture history. He was renowned for hi ...

, he took up the sport of weightlifting. He was trained by Sistla Somayajulu in weightlifting for some time. Later he traveled with Kolli Rangadasu and gave many performances in different Indian states and countries. Rajagopal was married to Anasuya. The couple had 5 children - Jhansi Lakshmibai, Purnachandra Rao, Shyamasundara Rao, Basavaraja Rao and Vijayalakshmi. He died on 6 August 1981. An indoor stadium, Dandamudi Rajagopal Rao Indoor Stadium, was donated by and named after him at Benz Circle,

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

. The stadium was inaugurated by then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

Tanguturi Anjaiah Tanguturi Anjaiah (1919–1986), popularly known as T. Anjaiah, was an Indian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from October 1980 to February 1982. He won from Ramayampet Assembly Constituency. Background Tangu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajagopal, Dandamudi Indian male weightlifters Telugu people People from Krishna district Weightlifters from Andhra Pradesh Olympic weightlifters for India Weightlifters at the 1948 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1956 Summer Olympics Asian Games bronze medalists in weightlifting Weightlifters at the 1951 Asian Games Medalists at the 1951 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for India Asian Games weightlifters for India 1916 births 1981 deaths