#5 Karnam Malleswari
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In case you are hearing the name for the first time, Andhra Pradesh’s Karanam Malleswari is the first Indian weightlifter and first Indian woman to bag a medal in Olympics.
In 2000, at the Sydney Olympic games, she lifted 110 kg in the snatch and 130 kg in the clean and jerk for a total lift of 240 kg. She later stated that she was disheartened on missing out the gold medal. To this day, Malleswari maintains that gold was in her grasp.
As per Malleswari, her coaches miscalculated and had her lift 137.5 kg in her final attempt for the gold. However, she failed, and she would have won gold even if she had lifted 132.5 kg.
What made her feat remarkable was the fact that the Sydney Games was her first ever international meet since moving up to 69 kg division. Back in the year 1994, Malleswari won gold in a world championship in Istanbul and in 1995 she won the Asian Championship in Korea in the 54 kg category.
In a country which is still considered largely patriarchal, we need more stories like Malleswari’s to be told.
