The Hindu : Sport / Weightlifting : Malleswari to lead Indian challenge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

Sport

Sport - Weightlifting

Malleswari to lead Indian challenge

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, JUNE 9. Sydney Olympics bronze medallist K. Malleswari will lead the Indian weightlifting challenge at this year's Games in Athens. Kunjarani Devi, Prathima Kumari and Sanamacha Chanu were the other three named by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) in the provisional team.

"This is the team, which in all probability, will represent India,'' said the IWF secretary Mr. Balbir Singh Bhatia. "But for any unforeseen injuries, we have decided on these four lifters after two prominent lifters went out of contention. Nandini Devi dislocated her shoulder and is still recuperating while Sunaina tested positive for steroids at the Asian championship."

The four lifters are leaving for Minsk, Belarus, on Thursday night for extensive training ahead of the Games. Foreign expert Leonid Taranenko and chief coach Pal Singh Sandhu are accompanying the lifters for the two-month-long camp.

After a brief send-off ceremony at the Nehru Stadium here, the IWF contended that the lifters were being sent to Belarus as it had better infrastructure, recovery doctors and competitive environment.

Mr. Bhatia said that after the Commonwealth championship in Malta (June 25-28), the IWF would assess the performance and may pick two lifters to join the quartet in Belarus as stand-byes

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