Karnam Malleswari

Born: 1 June 1975

She is a retired Indian weightlifter.
She is the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics.
In 1995, she received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour, and in 1999, the civilian Padma Shri award.
She won the world title in the 54 kg division in 1994 and 1995 and placed third in 1993 and 1996.
In 1994, she won silver at the World Championships in Istanbul and in 1995 she won the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Korea in the 54 kg category.
She won the title in China that year with a record lift of 113 kg at the World Championships.
Even before her Olympic win, she was a two-time weightlifting world champion with 29 international medals, which includes 11 gold medals.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she lifted 110 kg in the “snatch” and 130 kg in the “clean and jerk” categories for a total of 240 kg.
She won the bronze medal and became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
She is also the first and only Indian woman weightlifter to win an Olympic medal.