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{{short description|Indian weightlifter}}
{{BLP sources|date=April 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date = August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor =
| name = E. Karunakaran
| image = Hotel green park.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Karunakaran at Hindustan Sports Foundation
| birth_name =
| fullname = Ekambaram Karunakaran
| nickname = Iron Man
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = [[Tamil]]
| nationality = Indian
| alma mater = NIS Patiala, Punjab
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|6|6|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Egattur (Tiruvallur District)|Egattur]], [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height = {{convert|1.68|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (2015)
| weight = {{convert|77|kg|lb|abbr=on}} (2015)
| website =
| country = {{IND}}
| sport = [[Olympic weightlifting|Weightlifting]]
| event = 52 kg
| collegeteam =
| universityteam =
| club =
| team =
| turnedpro =
| partner = Kalavathy
| former_partner =
| coach =
| retired = 2015
| coaching = [[National Institute of Sports]]
| worlds =
| regionals =
| nationals =
| paralympics =
| highestranking = Rank 1(1978)
| pb =
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport| Men's [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifting]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's Weight Lifting}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1978 Commonwealth Games|1978 Edmonton]]|Flyweight}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1980 Commonwealth Championship|1980 Cardiff]]|Flyweight}}
{{MedalGold|[[1981 Commonwealth Games|1981 Auckland]]|Flyweight}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Mini Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1981 Mini Commonwealth Games|1981 Brisbane]]|Flyweight}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[New Zealand Summer Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1981 New Zealand SummerGames|1981 Auckland]]|Flyweight}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Asian Weightlifting Championships]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1981 Asian Championship|1981 Nagoya]]|Flyweight}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Weightlifting at the World Railway Games|World Railway Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1984 World Railways|1984 Sofia]]|Flyweight}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pakistan National Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1984 Commonwealth Games|1984 Islambabad]]|Flyweight}}
}}

'''Ekambaram Karunakaran''' (also '''Karunagaran''', born 6 June 1954) is an Indian former [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifter]]. He competed in the [[Weightlifting at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 52 kg|men's flyweight event]] at the [[1980 Summer Olympics]].<ref name="SportsRef">{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ek/karunagaran-ekambaram-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418105117/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ek/karunagaran-ekambaram-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |title=Karunagaran Ekambaram Olympic Results |accessdate=12 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=E. KARUNAKARAN|url=https://www.sdat.tn.gov.in/arjunaawardeespdf/karunakaran_weightlifting.pdf|work=sdat.tn.gov.in|access-date=26 November 2023}}</ref> He was the first Indian to win the gold medal in an international competition in [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifting]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sports.ndtv.com/commonwealth-games-2014/india-in-commonwealth-games-1515428 | title=India In Commonwealth Games | date=23 July 2014 | publisher=NDTV Sports | accessdate=23 August 2020 | archive-date=11 December 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211141050/https://sports.ndtv.com/commonwealth-games-2014/india-in-commonwealth-games-1515428 | url-status=dead }}</ref> This was in the [[Commonwealth Games]] in [[Edmonton]], [[Canada]] in 1978. Karunakaran's career spanned 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 (Tiruvallur District)|Egattur]], [[Thiruvallur]], [[Tamil Nadu]] to Ekambaram and Karupaiammal Karunakaran. He studied at Kadambathur Government higher secondary school and then worked with [[Southern Railway zone|Southern Railway]] in [[Chennai]].

== Career ==
Initially interested in [[Kabaddi]], Karunakaran took to weightlifting to gain strength and power at age 17. He was initially very thin. He was an instant success at the national level, winning the 52 kg class from 1978 to 1982. His international career began almost simultaneously. He took 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 [[Commonwealth Games|games record]]. He won the Inter Railway Championship title seven times consecutively beginning in 1978. Two years later he won another gold at the Commonwealth weightlifting championship and broke 6 international records in [[Cardiff]], [[Wales]]. Thereafter he took part in competitions in [[New Zealand]] and the [[Commonwealth Games]] in [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]]; where he carried the Indian Tricolor.

He won silver and bronze medals at the [[Asian Championships]] in [[Nagoya]] in 1981. This was followed by a [[Silver Medal]] in the Pakistan National Games that occurred during the same year. Karunakaran captained the Indian weightlifting squad to the World Railways Meet in Bulgaria in 1984 where he won a bronze medal.

=== Coach ===
Karunakaran holds a diploma in coaching from the [[National Institute of Sports]] in [[Patiala]] and has coached the [[Southern Railway zone|Southern Railways]], the [[Indian Railways]] and finally the national teams. He accompanied the 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 the [[Hiroshima]] [[Asian Games]] in [[Japan]] during the year 1994. He was honored as the Best Coach in 1995.

In 2009, he represented as a coach in the Youth World Weightlifting Championship held at [[Chiang Mai]], [[Thailand]]; and qualified for Junior World Cup (first time in Indian history). In 2010 he worked as a coach in the Asian Youth Olympic Qualification, the 17th Asian Junior Women, and the 24th Asian Junior Men Weightlifting Championships; qualifying for the Junior World Cup. The team won the silver medal. In 2010 he represented as a coach in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship held at [[Penang]], [[Malaysia]].

==See also==
*[[List of Tamil recipients of the Arjuna Award]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{sports links}}
*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10450-25477363/canberra-times-act/ Canberra-times 1978]
*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10450-25486686/canberra-times-act/ Canberra-times 1981]
*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10450-8213447/canberra-times-act/ Canberra-times 1982]
*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10450-9017273/canberra-times-act/ Canberra-Times 1990]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karunakaran, Ekambaram}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Tamil sportspeople]]
[[Category:Indian male weightlifters]]
[[Category:Weightlifters from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:People from Tiruvallur district]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award]]
[[Category:Olympic weightlifters for India]]
[[Category:Weightlifters at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India]]
[[Category:Weightlifters at the 1978 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in weightlifting]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games squash players for India]]

Ekambaram Karunakaran - Revision history

DrusillaSchuster: created a info w/ refs