Olympics: Decoding India's medal haul in weightlifting
India would like to enhance their medal tally at the high-voltage 2024 Paris Olympics, which will get underway on July 26. Athletes from different corners of the globe will compete across 32 sports for a total of 329 gold medals. Weightlifting is among the several competitions to be played. Meanwhile, here we look at India's Olympic medal tally in weightlifting.
Two Olympic medals in weightlifting
India didn't have a single Olympic medal in weightlifting prior to this century. Karnam Malleswari ended the drought by clinching the bronze medal in the 2000 Sydney Games. It took the nation two more decades to get another Olympic medal in weightlifting. The wait ended with Saikhom Mirabai Chanu's silver in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Malleswari's glory in Sydney
As mentioned, Karnam Malleswari clinched the bronze medal in the 2000 edition. She participated in the 54kg category and had lifted 110kg in snatch and 130kg in clean and jerk, making a total of 240kg. Notably, she also became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
Chanu's silver in Tokyo Games
Chanu scripted history by winning India's first medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The then 26-year-old bagged silver in the 49kg category. After finishing second in the snatch event by clearing the 84kg and 87kg marks, Chanu lifted 110kg and 115kg in the clean and jerk event to settle for silver.
