(Outlook)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met India’s trailblazing Olympic medallist weightlifter Karnam Malleswari during his visit to Yamunanagar, Haryana, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several development projects.
On the sidelines of his official engagements, PM Modi praised Malleswari’s contributions to Indian sports, both as a decorated athlete and now as a mentor nurturing young talent.
Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wrote, “Met Olympic medalist and noted athlete, Karnam Malleswari in Yamunanagar yesterday. India is proud of her success as a sportswoman. Equally commendable is her effort to mentor young athletes.”
Karnam Malleswari, a two-time World Champion and two-time Asian Games silver medallist, made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
Her crowning moment came at the Sydney 2000 Olympics when she lifted a total of 240 kg — 110 kg in the snatch and 130 kg in clean and jerk — to clinch a bronze medal and create history for Indian women in sports.
Her stellar career also includes podium finishes at multiple World Championships, with gold medals in 1994 and 1995 in the 54 kg category and bronze medals in 1993 and 1996. Despite narrowly missing out on gold at the Asian Games in 1994 and 1998, Malleswari established herself as a dominant force in international weightlifting.
Following her retirement in 2004, Malleswari, along with her husband and fellow weightlifter Rajesh Tyagi, set up an academy in Yamunanagar in 2017 to train and mentor aspiring weightlifters. She also founded the Karnam Malleswari Foundation — a first-of-its-kind academy focused on weightlifting and powerlifting — to promote the sport she loves.
Recognised for her contributions to Indian sport, she has been honoured with the Arjuna Award (1994), the Padma Shri (1999), and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (1999).
