Malleshwari fears critics may sabotage her career

Karnam Malleshwari, the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympic Games, on Thursday said she fears her detractors may sabotage her plans of participating in the coming Asian and next Olympic Games.

Malleshwari said she is anxiously looking forward to the Pusan Asian Games in 2002 and Athens Olympics in 2004, but is not sure whether the federation will approve her selection.

"There were people in the federation who opposed my participation in the Sydney Games tooth and nail. Even the media had written me off. Now, I am not sure whether my detractors will allow me to continue with competitive weighlifting at international levels or not," a disenchanted Malleswari told reporters in Delhi.

Malleshwari, who had come to Delhi to receive a cheque of Rs five lakh from Satyam Infoway for her bronze medal performance at the Sydney Games, said she would have appreciated the recognition more had it been given before going to Sydney.

"People ask me what am I going to do with all the money that I have been showered with. I wonder why the same people did not come to me earlier to ask how I was preparing for the Games with so little money," the strong woman quipped.

Malleshwari said genuine support from her family, coach and fans made her change her earlier decision to quit the sport.

"I was elated, angry and frustrated simultaneously after I won the medal. All the injustices and hardships that I had gone through, and the way I fought myself just to be at Sydney, flashed across my mind and I decided to call it a day," she said.