The 23-year-old Woman grappler from Haryana Sakshi Malik ended India’s medal drought with a dramatic bronze-winning effort on day 12 of the Rio Olympic Games.
The first female grappler to win from India was hoisted by her coach Kuldeep Singh with the Indian tricolour draped around her.
“Meri 12 saal ki tapasya rang layi (It’s the fruit of mypersistent hard work in the last 12 years). Geeta didi, mysenior had qualified for the first time in London. I never thought I would become the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal in wrestling,” Sakshi said with tears in her eyes.
The journey from Mokhra village to Rio began with her training as a 12-year-old under the guidance of Ishwar Dahiya at an akhara in the Chotu Ram stadium. The lady Sultan had to fight a lot of boys and face protests by locals, to prove herself, in the man dominated sports.
In the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha, after victory, she said:
“My silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games is my personal favourite. Although I displayed some aggressive wrestling at the 2015 Asian Championships and clinched a bronze, my bout at Glasgow was more challenging.”
In July 2016, She won 60-kg Bronze at the Spanish Grand Prix.
PM Narendra Modi tweeted:
Sakshi Malik will inspire several sportspersons in the years to come. https://t.co/5aE24BIryT
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 18, 2016