Ekambaram Karunakaran: Difference between revisions

E. Karunakaran
	Karunakaran at Hindustan Sports Foundation
Personal information
Full name	Ekambaram Karunakaran
Nickname	Iron Man
Nationality	India
Born	6 June 1954 (age 70); Egattur, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma mater	NIS Patiala, Punjab
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) (2015)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb) (2015)
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Weightlifting
Event	52 kg
Partner	Kalavathy
Retired	2015
Now coaching	National Institute of Sports
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	Rank 1(1978)
Medal record
Men's weightlifting
Representing India
Men's Weight Lifting
Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Championship
Mini Commonwealth Games
New Zealand Summer Games
Asian Championship
World Railway Games
Pakistan National Games

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Revision as of 01:13, 15 April 2018

Ekambaram Kaunakaran (born 6 June 1954) is a former Indian sports person who is the First Indian to win the Gold medal in an International Competition in the event Weightlifting.^[1] This was in the Commonwealth games in Edmonton, Canada in 1978. This was one medal, which Karunakaran cherished in a career spanning over a decade. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in the year 1978-79 by the Government of India.

Early life

Karunakaran was born in Egattur, Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India to Ekambaram and karupaiammal. Karunakaran did his Schooling from Kadambathur Government higher secondary school and then took up employment with Southern Railway in Chennai. Initially interested in kabaddi, Karunakaran changed his sports career and took to weightlifting to gain both strength and power. He took up weightlifting at the age of 17 and grew up in the iron sport in and around madras. It was an understandable ambition as he was very thin and could not bear the taunts of his friends who used to call him ‘a bag of bones’. Despite the lack of facilities in his village Karunakaran was able to record substantial improvement in his physique. Weightlifting indeed had done wonders with him and he had barely crossed at this stage.

He was an instant success at the national level, winning the 52 kg class from 1978 to 1982 among some very stiff competition. His international career also began almost simultaneously; the gold medal with an aggregate of 95 kg snatch, and 110 kg clean and jerk lifts, totaling 205 kg in Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in 1978. His lift of 110 kg in the jerk set a new games record. He won the Inter Railway Championship title seven times consecutively since 1978. Two years later he won another Gold at the Commonwealth weightlifting Championship and broke the 6 international records at Cardiff, U.K. Thereafter he took part in competitions in New Zealand and the commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia. It was he who carried the Indian Tricolor at Brisbane.

He participated in the 1980 Moscow Olympics to perform according to the expectations as he injured himself while doing 95 kg in his second snatch attempt. At the Asian level he won a Silver and bronze in the Asian Championships in Nagoya in 1981. This was followed by a Silver Medal in the Pakistan National Games the same year. Karunakaran captained the Indian Weightlifting squad to the World Railways Meet in Bulgaria in 1984 where he won a Bronze.

Karunakaran holds a diploma in coaching from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala and has coached the Southern Railways, the Indian Railways and finally the national teams. He Accompanied Indian Weightlifting Team as Manager at the SAF Games held at Islamabad in 1989. An Arjuna Award winner in 1978-79, he was feted by the Sports Journalist Association of Tamil Nadu during 1981-82. He worked as a Coach for Asian Games at Hiroshima Asian games, Japan in 1994. Another feather was added to his cap when he was honored as the Best coach in 1995.

In 2009, he represented as a coach in Youth world weightlifting championship held at Chiang Mai,Bangkok and qualified for Junior World Cup(First time in Indian History) and in 2010 he worked as a coach in Asian Youth Olympic qualification, 17th Asian junior Women & 24th Asian Junior Men Weightlifting championships and qualified for Junior World Cup and the team got the Silver medal. In 2010 he represented as a coach in Commonwealth weightlifting championship held at Penang, Malaysia.

References

^ India In Commonwealth Games (1978)

External links

[1] India In Commonwealth Games (1978)

[1]

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 Karunakaran was born in [[Egattur (Tiruvallur District)|Egattur]], [[Thiruvallur]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India to Ekambaram and karupaiammal. Karunakaran did his Schooling from Kadambathur Government higher secondary school and then took up employment with [[Southern Railway zone|Southern Railway]] in [[Chennai]]. Initially interested in [[kabaddi]], Karunakaran changed his sports career and took to weightlifting to gain both strength and power. He took up weightlifting at the age of 17 and grew up in the iron sport in and around madras. It was an understandable ambition as he was very thin and could not bear the taunts of his friends who used to call him ‘a bag of bones’. Despite the lack of facilities in his village Karunakaran was able to record substantial improvement in his physique. Weightlifting indeed had done wonders with him and he had barely crossed at this stage.
-He was an instant success at the national level, winning the 52&nbsp;kg class from 1978 to 1982 among some very stiff competition. His international career also began almost simultaneously; the gold medal with an aggregate of 95&nbsp;kg snatch, and 110&nbsp;kg clean and jerk lifts, totaling 205&nbsp;kg in Edmonton’s [[Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium]] in 1978. His lift of 110&nbsp;kg in the jerk  set a new [[Commonwealth Games|games record]]. He won the [[Inter Railway Championship]] title  seven times consecutively since 1978. Two years later he won another Gold at the [[Commonwealth weightlifting Championship]] and broke the 6 international records at [[Cardiff]], [[U.K.]] Thereafter he took part in competitions in [[New Zealand]] and the [[commonwealth Games]] in [[Brisbane]],[[Australia]]. It was he who carried the Indian Tricolor at [[Brisbane]].
+He was an instant success at the national level, winning the 52&nbsp;kg class from 1978 to 1982 among some very stiff competition. His international career also began almost simultaneously; the gold medal with an aggregate of 95&nbsp;kg snatch, and 110&nbsp;kg clean and jerk lifts, totaling 205&nbsp;kg in Edmonton’s [[Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium]] in 1978. His lift of 110&nbsp;kg in the jerk  set a new [[Commonwealth Games|games record]]. He won the [[Inter Railway Championship]] title  seven times consecutively since 1978. Two years later he won another Gold at the [[Commonwealth weightlifting Championship]] and broke the 6 international records at [[Cardiff]], [[U.K.]] Thereafter he took part in competitions in [[New Zealand]] and the [[commonwealth Games]] in [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]]. It was he who carried the Indian Tricolor at [[Brisbane]].
 He participated in the [[1980 Moscow Olympics]]  to perform according to the expectations as he injured himself while doing 95&nbsp;kg in his second snatch attempt. At the [[Asia]]n level he won a Silver and bronze in the [[Asian Championships]] in [[Nagoya]] in 1981. This was followed by a [[Silver Medal]] in the [[Pakistan National Games]] the same year. Karunakaran captained the Indian Weightlifting squad to the World Railways Meet in Bulgaria in 1984 where he won a Bronze.