Karnam didn’t lose her will to perform and participated at the 2004 Olympic Games but failed to score and bid farewell to the world of sports. At present, Karnam is happily serving the Food Corporation of India as the Chief General Manager (General Administration). Although it has been many years of retirement yet, Karnam has the same will and passion for encouraging sports in the nation and wants girls to perform beyond expectations. India is really proud to have her who never failed to uplift the stature of the country through her gifted talents in weightlifting and donned the colours of victory with all her sincere efforts. Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari etched her name in history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
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The weight of the circumstances and the overshadowing doping controversies continued to cast a shadow on her remarkable journey. In 1997, she made a life-changing decision to marry her fellow weightlifter, Rajesh Tyagi, when she was not more than 22 years old. During this period, weightlifting in Bharat was struggling to shake off its tarnished reputation, marred by doping scandals.
Karnam Malleswari: The forgotten sports story awaiting the silver screen
“When I began weightlifting in 1987, the pressure on girls to not play sports was very high. Today girls go to gyms and put up pictures of their image source muscles (on social media),” Malleswari chuckles about the changing times. There were times when weightlifting was considered as a man’s play in India, but the illusion was shattered by an Andhra girl in 2000 when she bagged India’s first Olympic medal in women’s weightlifting and scripted history. Yes, we are talking about Karnam Malleswari; who although has bidden a bye to the sport, yet her phenomenal journey as a weightlifter will always be chanted as an inspirational anecdote. It was her, who denied to carry on all the crappy cerebration of the society and decided to train in weightlifting and that too at the age of 12 and rest is a legend in itself. The Sydney Olympics marked the first time that women’s weightlifting was included in the Olympic program.
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- It took 12 long years for any woman to come close to matching her achievement, and an additional 4 years for an Indian woman to surpass it in any category.
- Her journey is one of resilience and dedication, overcoming societal barriers and financial constraints to reach the pinnacle of success in a male-dominated sport.
- This distinction is a feat that no athlete, not even a cricketer, has managed to achieve.
- However, Karnam is not one to be disheartened and she put on a show that left its mark on history.
- Malleswari’s legacy extends beyond her medals, inspiring generations of aspiring athletes, especially women, across India.
- Born in a small village Voosavanipeta in Andhra Pradesh, Malleswari was one of four girls, all of whom trained to become weightlifters.
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After winning the medal in Olympics her name become the household name among the Indian families and inspired many young ladies to take up the sport. Carrying the hopes of million peoples on the shoulders and living up to the expectation is not an easy task and Karnam Malleswari did it in 2000 Olympics. Undoubtedly a true legend in the women weightlifting circuit has brought many laurels to the country by her breathtaking performance. True to her name Karnam which gives the meaning of dignity in Sanskrit made every Indian proud by her outstanding achievements over the years. Malleswari’s legacy extends beyond her own achievements, as she has become a symbol of hope and inspiration for countless young Indian athletes. She had planned to return to competitions at the 2002 Commonwealth Games but withdrew after her father passed away.
The Government of India honoured her with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Padma Shri in 1999. She became the mother of a son in 2001 after which she was supposed to quit sports, but Karnam denied it all and prepared hard for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. But this time, destiny was not in her favour, and she had to withdraw her name because of her father’s demise.
While Karnam herself had no connection with the wrongdoers, the shadow of these negative events cast a pall over the entire sport. The incredible journey of Karnam Malleswari, India’s trailblazing weightlifter, didn’t begin on the grand stage of the Olympics but in a quaint village named Voosavanipeta, nestled in the heart of Andhra Pradesh. Karnam was the middle child in a family of five sisters, and little did the world know that this unassuming girl would etch her name in history. Our nation is a treasure trove of inspirational stories, and the world of sports is no exception.