Question

Karnam Malleswari is the first Indian woman to win a medal in weightlifting in _______________.
A.Asian Games
B.Olympic Games
C.Commonwealth Games
D.None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Karnam Malleswari is an Indian sportswoman born in 1975 in Andhra Pradesh. She started her career in heavy weightlifting at age 12 under the guidance of coach Neelamshetty Appanna. She joined the national camp in 1994 and went on to represent India at the four World Championships. In the 1993 and 1996 World Championships, she won the third-place/bronze medal while in 1994 and 1995 World Championships, she won consecutive first places/gold medals. In 1995, she also won first place at the Asian Weightlifting Championship in Korea.

Complete step by step solution:
Option A: Asian Games is incorrect. She did represent India at two Asian Games in the year 1994 held in Hiroshima and 1998 held in Bangkok. She won second places/silver medals at both these games.
Option B: Olympic Games is correct. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, she became the first Indian woman to win a medal in weightlifting and was named “the Iron Lady” for achieving this historic feat. Lifting 110kg and 130kg in the ‘snatch’ and ‘clean and jerk’ categories respectively to total 240kg, she won the first place/gold medal.
Option C: Commonwealth Games is incorrect. Although she planned to make a comeback in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, she had to withdraw later due to the untimely demise of her father.
Option D: is incorrect.

Note: For her noteworthy career, she was also awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1999, Arjuna Award in 1994 and the Padma Shri in 1999.