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Malavath Poorna: From a Telangana Village to the Top of the World

August 31, 2026
Malavath Poorna: From a Telangana Village to the Top of the World

Roots and Early Life

Malavath Poorna was born on 10 June 2000 in Pakala village, Nizamabad district, Telangana, into a family of agricultural labourers from a Dalit tribal community. Growing up in poverty, with her parents earning a combined income of under Rs. 3,000 a month, she attended a government residential school — the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) — where her potential was spotted through a rock-climbing and mountaineering program.

Scaling the World's Highest Peak

On 25 May 2014, at age 13 years and 11 months, Poorna became the youngest female in the world to summit Mount Everest. She climbed via the more difficult and less-crowded Tibetan (northern) route, since Nepal's southern route doesn't permit climbers under 16. She was accompanied by fellow student S. Anand Kumar (16), and their expedition was widely covered as a landmark moment for underprivileged and tribal youth in India.

After graduating, she studied Political Science at Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA, as an exchange student, aiming to advocate for women's empowerment.

Chasing the Seven Summits

Poorna didn't stop at Everest — she went on to complete the Seven Summits Challenge (the highest peak on each continent):

  • Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa (2016)

  • Mount Elbrus, Europe (2017) — where she unfurled a 50-ft Indian tricolour and sang the national anthem at the summit

  • Mount Aconcagua, South America (2019)

  • Carstensz Pyramid, Oceania (2019)

  • Mount Vinson Massif, Antarctica (2019)

  • Mount Denali, North America (2022) — completing the full Seven Summits challenge, alongside father-daughter climbers Ajeet Bajaj and Deeya Bajaj

Honours & Her Wider Legacy

  • Listed in Forbes India's "Self-Made Women" list (2020).

  • Received the Amazing Indians Award (2016) from PM Narendra Modi, the Ruby Jubilee Healthcare Award from APJ Abdul Kalam, and honours like the Zee Apsara Award ("Pride of Telangana") and JFW Award (2018).

  • Her story inspired the 2017 Bollywood film Poorna: Courage Has No Limit, directed by Rahul Bose.

  • Following her Everest climb, applications to her school TSWREIS reportedly jumped from around 8,700 to 60,000 within a year — a measurable ripple effect on aspirations among underprivileged students in Telangana.