CWG 2018 | I feel in the 2018 CWG India will win plenty of medals, says Karnam Malleswari
Karnam Malleswari, the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, is highly confident that the Indian contingent will collect plenty of medals at the 2018 Gold Coast CWG which begins on April 4. Malleswari has high hopes from the wrestlers, weightlifters, and shooters who have gone to Australia.
One of the most iconic names in the Indian sporting circuit - Karnam Malleswari - at the peak of her career, was an epitome for all the female weightlifters from all around the globe. Malleswari created history when she lifted 110 kg in the "snatch" and 130 kg in the "clean and jerk" for a total of 240 kg in the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney which helped her win the Bronze medal. This made her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. As India gears up for a challenging outing at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth games, Malleswari remained highly confident in the athletes that have gone to represent the nation in the various events.
“Personally I feel in the 2018 Commonwealth Games India will win plenty of medals. The women’s hockey team, wrestlers, weightlifters, shooters and the badminton players are India’s best bet. I recently met Rani Rampal, India’s women hockey team captain, at an awards function and she exuded great confidence in her team. Women wrestler Pooja Dhanda is the other athlete who impressed me most with her recent performances at the Wrestling League. She beat World and Olympic Champion Helen Maroulis,” Malleswari wrote in her column for TOI.
The 42-year old further went on to give some support to her weightlifting compatriots as she singled out individuals who she expected to win medals for the country.
"Among the weightlifters, I expect gold from World Champion Mirabai Channu, Sanjita Chanu and Pradip Singh in the men’s 105 kg category. At the Commonwealth Championships Pradeep beat an 18 years old record set by Daljit Singh,” Malleswari added.
Malleswari revealed that she was impressed by the current crop of Indian shooters that have emerged and she lavished praise on the young Manu
“Shooting will suffer because of reduction in their quota but senior shooters like Jitu Rai and Gagan Narang will use their experience to win medals. Youngsters like Manu
“Boxing has Vikas and Amit as potential medallists while Achanta Sharath Kamal will be India’s best prospects in table tennis. In athletics the standards are high but still Seema Punia, Arpinder Singh, Tejaswin Shankar and 4x400 women’s relay are likely to win,” Malleswari added.