Santoshi Matsa-Pride of Andhra

When 20 year old Andhra Pradesh girl Santoshi Matsa grabbed the bronze medal in the women's 53 kg category at the 20th Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow ,Scotland and it was a moment of pride and joy for her and her family who hail from a small village in Vijayanagaram.

Born in remote Kondavelagada village, Nellimarla mandal in Vijayanagaram district,in Andhra Pradesh, Santoshi had shown keen interest in weight lifting since her younger days despite the hurdles  in her family . Her coach Challa Ramu said that despite poverty and lack of modern training facilities in her village which had many weight lifters who are in dire need for sponsors, she was steadfast in her determination to be on the top and this is evident with the number of medals she has won over the past 8 years in her weightlifting career. She has won many medals in the National Level before moving on to the International weightlifting arena.

She has won several gold medals in the Junior division between 2006 and 2013. In 2010 she won the gold medal in the ASIAD held at Uzbekisthan and was adjudged the 5th place in the Youth Olympiads held in Singapore. In the Common Wealth Youth Junior Championships  held at Malaysia she won the Gold Medal.With her winning the Bronze medal at the Commonwealth  games she has put Andhra back on the International Map and made the Telugu people proud of her achievement .