RSS  |  Samvad  |  Vital Infotech Ltd.

October     Last updated: September 30, 5:00 p.m.

India's first woman medalist in Olympics
Malleswari's Bronze Magic

Vasudha Saini

Opening India's account in the millennium's first Olympic Games in Sydney, weightlifter Karnam Malleswari added a glorious chapter to the history of Indian sports by becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. She picked up the bronze medal in the 69 kg category at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre. Malleswari also became the third Indian since Independence to win an individual Olympic medal after wrestler Kashaba Jadhav (Halsinki 1952) and tennis ace Leander Paes (Atlanta, 1996). The 25-year-old former world champion, Malleswari lifted 110 kg in snatch and 130 kg in clean and jerk for a total of 240 kg, 2.5 kg less than the two-way tie for gold and silver medal winners. The gold medal went to Lin Weining of China and the silver to Erzsebet Markus of Hungry. "It is a dream come true. Now, I think, I have proved myself and provided enough proof of my ability", an emotionally surcharged Malleswari said after winning the medal.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee lauded Malleswari's feat at the Olympic 2000 and congratulated her for making the country proud. In a rare gesture, Shri Vajpayee spoke to the bronze medalist over the phone and said Malleswari's achievement was a "tribute to Indian womanhood". "It is a moment of great pleasure that the first medal of Sydney Olympics for India has gone to Malleswari making her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal," said President K.R. Narayanan in his congratulatory message. Chief Minister of her home-state, Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu also congratulated her and announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh. Married in Faridabad, Haryana's bahu was showered with a cash reward of Rs 25 lakh by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. He congratulated her and hoped that her achievement would inspire others to strive for international excellence.

True, Malleswari's efforts and her winning performance in the weightlifting event deserves praises and rewards, but the nation of one billion need not go gaga over a bronze, for which it hardly had any contribution. It is more of a personal achievement of a talented girl from a humble background, spotted in early teens by a coach in an interior village of backward district in Andhra Pradesh. No Indian system or institution can claim to have contributed much in grooming her skills. Malleswari shifted to Faridabad after marrying Rajesh Tyagi, a national level weightlifter. Her father Ramdas was a constable in the Railway Protection Force. Malleswari is the third among six children. Her sister, K. Narsamma, is also a weightlifter. Under pressure of unfair criticism by a section of the Indian media calling her "overweight, drinking beer and eating too much of chicken and cheese" and that it was her last chance to prove her talent at the international sports, Malleswari's bronze is a magnificent personal achievement. The talented young men and women aspiring to make a mark in sports in a country like India, which has failed to raise the necessary infrastructure for training them, even after 53-years of self-rule, need to draw inspiration from the Jhadavs, Paeses and Malleswaris who had groomed their talent with an unyielding spirit, patience, efforts and a positive attitude to win without depending too much on the many sports associations and authorities here. The nation has reasons to celebrate, but the governments should try to turn these occasional occurrences into regular victories at the international sports events. It owes this to the sports lovers and the sportsmen and women waiting to see the Indian flag fly high in this arena also.