Karnam Malleswari

Karnam Malleswari is a retired Indian weightlifter, born on 1 June 1975 in Srikakulam, who became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics she lifted 110 kg in the snatch and 130 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 240 kg and the bronze medal, which was also the only medal India won at those Games. Before that she was a two-time world champion in the 54 kg division, in 1994 and 1995, with 29 international medals including 11 golds. She received the Arjuna Award in 1994 and the Khel Ratna and Padma Shri in 1999, and in June 2021 she became the first vice-chancellor of Delhi Sports University.