"I slipped from gold to bronze due to the difference of merely 2kgs" - Karnam Malleswari's heart still yearns for the Olympic gold
Few athletes have been able to capture the imagination of the entire country as Karnam Malleswari did in 2000. At the Sydney Olympics that year, the weightlifting legend etched her name in history as the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. Malleswari lifted not just weights but the collective spirit of the nation, inspiring a generation of female athletes and beyond.
With the Paris Olympics just around the corner, Sportskeeda caught up with her for an exclusive chat about the glory moment. It turned out to be a fascinating conversation that left us marveling at her zeal and hunger - to see India excel at the biggest stage - that even after all these years continues to manifest.
"When I was heading to Sydney, there was a school of thought that just participating in the Olympics itself is a big achievement. The thought of winning a medal didn’t even use to cross the minds, especially when it came to female athletes." tells Malleswari. "Among females, nobody had ever won a medal in over 100 years. So nobody even thought that a female athlete could perform at the Olympics and bring India a medal."
Before Sydney, India had won only two individual medals apart from the eleven secured in hockey. The first was wrestler K.D. Jadhav's bronze in 1952 and the other was won in the sport of tennis by Leander Paes in 1996. Malleswari remained the only Indian woman to finish on the podium until M.C. Mary Kom and Saina Nehwal joined the list at the 2012 London Olympics.
"So, I broke that hurdle and that makes me very happy." says Malleswari. "After that, if you look at it, female athletes have brought us many medals over the years. I got a chance to change the way the society thought. Women athletes across sports - not just weightlifting; be it wrestling, badminton or boxing - thought that if she can do it, so can we."
Sydney Olympics was the first edition of the quadrennial games to feature women's weightlifting. Malleswari participated in the 69kg weight class and secured bronze by lifting a total weight of 240kg. While she is incredibly proud of her achievement, it doesn't take her long to tell us that she was indeed gunning for gold.
"I was in contention for Gold. I slipped from gold to bronze just because of a difference of 2 kgs (2.5 kgs actually). If you would have seen my last attempt, after lifting 130kg in clean and jerk, I was moved up to 137.5kg. It was not needed. I could have got the gold by just lifting 132.5 kg."
The gold medal was won by China's Lin Weining, who lifted a total of 242.5kg - including 110kg in 'snatch' and 132.5kg in the 'clean and jerk' round. Malleswari had matched Weining in the 'snatch' round and also lifted 130kg in her second attempt in the 'clean and jerk'. In her final attempt, she needed to lift 132.5kg to draw equal with the Chinese competitor. However, she rather tried her hand at 137.5kg and failed. She tells us that it was a decision she didn't have much say in.
"I did not know this at that time." she says. "Because when you are competing, you are in the competition zone. What the next weight would be, is totally the call of the coaches. I missed the last weight. Had I lifted it, I would have won the gold."
24 years later, her heart still yearns for an Olympic gold. And Malleswari has not yet given up on this dream of hers. She currently runs her own weightlifting academy and hopes to see her students qualify for the Olympics in the future.
"When I started my academy, I tried to ensure that the set up is at par with the world level. We have a sports science centre there. Good equipment is available. I personally look at the diet and coaching of the players. The plan is to get 3-4 medals at the 2032 or 2036 Olympics." proclaims Malleswari.
Good things take time and Malleswari knows it better than most.
"You can’t start today and become an international weightlifter within two years. To reach the international level in weightlifting, you need at least 5-7 years" she says.
While the academy is touted as the "go-to-place" for anyone who wants to learn weightlifting, Malleswari is not shy of admitting that there is a personal motive involved in setting up the institute.
"There is also a personal greed attached to it. I missed the gold medal due to a difference of merely 2kgs. I still feel that somewhere in my heart. Hence, I want my students to go there and bring not just one but 10 gold medals. That bit of madness is still there inside me. The day my students win an olympic gold, I would be very happy and then maybe this yearning for the gold would be satiated."
Perhaps, Aristotle was correct when he said, "there is no great genius without a touch of madness."
"Why would I reduce my weight and in turn break my body down?" - Karnam Malleswari on switching weight categories before Sydney Olympics
Even before her Olympic Triumph, Karnam Malleswari was a renowned name in the world of weightlifting. She had already won four medals at the World Weightlifting Championship including two gold and a bronze at the age of just 18. Along with that, she also won consecutive silver medals at the Asian Games in 1994 and 1998. However, heading into the Syndey Olympics, pundits did not rate her chances very high.
There were a couple of reasons given to support the argument. Firstly, she had not won a World Championship medal since 1996 and also, she had changed her weight class. It was the first time in her career that Malleswari was going to compete in the 69 kg category.
Though, she tells us that switching weight class is not something uncommon in a weightlifter's career. Malleswari was used to it.
"I started weightlifting at the age of 12. I first participated in the 52kg category, then 56kg, then the category changed to 58kg, then I participated in the 63kg category at the Bangkok Asian Games (1998). From age 12 to 25, your body obviously grows. Your height increases, your weight increases." she elucidates.
Trimming your body weight down in the lead-up to a competition is also a routine practice in the world of weightlifting. However, before the Sydney Olympics, Malleswari chose otherwise. She tells us that it was a calculated move.
"Before every competition, I had to trim down 8-10 kgs so that I could participate in the desired weight class. But before Sydney (Olympics), upon tallying my performance with the potential competitors, (we found that) I was doing better than them. So my coaches took the call." she explains. "When my performance was already high, why should I play in a lower weight class? When you try to loose 7-8-10 kg of weight before a competition, it takes a toll on your body. It was not needed. When I could compete for a medal even in a higher category, why would I go on to reduce my weight and in turn, break my body down."
Eventually, it turned out to be the right call. With her body feeling healthier, Malleswari went on to put in a performance that immortalized her in the country's sporting lore. She might have missed the gold medal, but in the history of Indian Sports, her name would forever be written in gold.