On September 19, 2000, weight lifter Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman ever to win an Olympic medal, competing in the Sydney International Convention Centre. It was remarkable achievement for an Indian girl. She had broken all norms of a conventional Indian society. In India, girls were supposed to be tender and acquire skills like needlework or cooking and baking, but Malleswari had a far-sighted view.
Karnam Malleswari
Karnam Malleswari was born on June 1, 1975, in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. Coming as she did from a conservative background, sports were not a priority. Surprisingly young Malleswari was very keen on sports. However, her mother encouraged her to go for it and often, as a child she used to travel quite far for training at a gym. She represented her state for the first time in 1989-90 at the age of 13, when most young girls were only just exchanging Enid Blytons for Mills and Boons!
In 1992, she represented India for the first time at the Asian Championships in Chiangmai, Thailand where she won a silver medal. Weight lifting is a lonely sport requiring a lot of concentration, dedication and an iron will. While other youngsters of her age were involved in planning for a good life, she was fighting a lonely battle of aching muscles and heaving arms! She carried on in spite of all the setbacks.
Malleswari tasted her first major success when she won two gold medals and one bronze at World Championship held in Turkey in 1994. She finished second in the competition. A few days later she was adjudged first, as the original winner, Wang Sheng of China, was disqualified after testing positive for drug abuse.
The following year, she won the World weight-lifting title in her class (54 kg) with a new record, lifting 113 kg in the clean-and-jerk, and then went on to win three gold medals at the Asian Championships in Korea. Her performances brought her the prestigious Arjuna Award in 1994, given annually to the country's outstanding sportspersons. A year later she got the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and in 1997, she received the Padma Shri.
Malleswari married in 1997 and moved to Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. Subsequently, she was busy with family life and took a short break from competitive weight lifting. She returned to participate in the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998, and won the silver medal to prove that her married life never deterred her career.
However, things began to go wrong. She was unable to win a medal at the 1999 Athens World Weight Lifting Championships. Many reasons were given for her poor performance. It was alleged that she ate the wrong kinds of foods and had become overweight. Deeply stung by these accusations, Malleswari decided to concentrate on her training and to use the Olympics as the arena to prove her critics wrong. There was contention over the choice of weightlifters for India's Olympic team. With three contestants and two spots, there was criticism when Kunjarani Devi was left out. By winning the bronze medal, Malleswari paved everyone wrong and bounced back.
During her career spanning ten years she has won 11 gold and three silver medals besides the prestigious Olympic bronze. She has been the National Champion for nine years (twice in the 52 kg category and seven times in the 54 kg category). Her life shows how hard work and perseverance can help us reach great heights in life. One can choose any career but it has to be followed with dedication. "Attitude ensures altitude."
