Indian Olympic Medal Winners - Karnam Malleswari India's First Female Olympic Medallist

In 1984 India had come within a whisker of a woman athlete clinching an Olympic medal when PT Usha stormed into the finals of the 400M hurdles at Los Angeles,USA

P T Usha,the Payyoli Express, however, missed out on a medal by 1/100th of a second, but the stirring run had ensured Usha's entry into the Hall of fame as she was the first Indian woman to reach the final of an Olympic event.

Sixteen years down the lane in 2000, India continued to agonize over the near miss, but in Sydney all the angst and pain was set to be erased by a weightlifter, who had not only struggled with her weight in the run-up to the Games, but was also mired in a selection controversy.

Andhra Pradesh's Karnam Malleswari put all the disappointment behind her back and on September 19, 2000, she realized the dreams of a billion people

Karnam Malleswari won the bronze in the 69kg category with an overall lift of 240kg, finishing just behind winner  Lin Weining of China and Hungary's Erzsebet Markus.