Karnam Malleswari

Karnam Malleswari

Personal information
Full name	Karnam Malleswari
Born	1 June 1975 Amadalavalasa, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Height	163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Weightlifting
Coached by	Leonid Taranenko[1]
Medal record Representing  India Olympic Games 2000 Sydney -69 kg World Championships 1993 Melbourne -54 kg 1994 Istanbul -54 kg 1995 Guangzhou -54 kg 1996 Guangzhou -54 kg Asian Games 1998 Bangkok -63 kg

Karnam Malleswari (born 1 June 1975) is a retired Indian weightlifter. She won the world title in the 54 kg division in 1994 and 1995 and placed third in 1993 and 1996. She won another bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics,^[2] becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.^[3] In 1995 she received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna,^[4] India's highest sporting honour, and in 1999 the civilian Padma Shri award.^[5]

Malleswari has four sisters, all trained in weightlifting. In 1997 she married a fellow weightlifter Rajesh Tyagi, and in 2001 gave birth to a son. She planned to return to competitions at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, but withdrew due to the death of her father. She retired after failing to score at the 2004 Olympics.^[1][2]

References

1. Malleswari lifts Indian Olympic hopes – ‘I’m enjoying my preparation for a second medal... I’m very hopeful’. The Telegraph (8 July 2004)
2. Karnam Malleswari. sports-reference.com
3. Ganguly, Meenakshi (27 December 2000) Conversations: 'I Did What I Could For My Country'. Time
4. List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees. sportsauthorityofindia.nic.in
5. "Padma Awards". Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2015.