Winning an Olympic medal is a ‘massive thing’, and for the country’s sports lovers that wake up on each day of the Olympics to know if its athletes have been able to end its ‘medal drought’, almost to the extent of ‘praying’ or ‘pleading’ to see the country’s name on the medals tally, woman wrestler Sakshi Malik’s marvelous bronze-winning feat in the 58-kg freestyle category will be surely be much, much more than just a ‘sigh of relief’ for the sports-crazy nation that was yearning for its first Olympic medal.
The road to an Olympic medal has been an ‘extremely tough one’ for the 23-year-old Haryana lass, who had to wrestle under the shadows of more famous Geeta Phogat over the past six years. Geeta literally made the 58-kg freestyle category her ‘own’ after becoming the first Indian woman grappler to win a World Championship medal in 2012 and also the first Indian woman wrestler to play in the Olympics in 2012.
Geeta was a sure-shot selection in the women’s the 58-kg freestyle category for major competitions in the last few years, and all Sakshi could do was to wait in the wings hoping for that ‘opportunity to prove her worth.
Just look at the turn of events to know how much ‘struggle’ Sakshi had to endure to seal her Olympic berth. Geeta Phogat was preferred over her in the first Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Mongolia in April, where the former lost in the second round. Geeta pulled out of her 58-kg freestyle category repechage round bout against China’s Zhangting, citing an injury without following the official procedure.
Also read: Dipa Karmakar can inspire an Indian revolution in Gymnastics
She was not only barred from taking part in the second and final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul in May but also served a show cause notice. It was Geeta’s undisciplined ways that provided a ‘window of opportunity’ to Sakshi, who was eagerly waiting to seal her Olympic spot.
Sakshi made the most of her opportunity in Istanbul, not only sealing her Olympic quota but also reaching the final, where she lost to Russia’s Valeria Koblova – the same Russian who beat her in the quarterfinals 9-2 in the Rio Olympics, and later did her a favour by reaching the final allowing the Indian to make it to the repechage round.
Sakshi never got an opportunity to settle down in the 58-kg category – she had reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Championships but it was in the 60-kg category – the same weight category where she had won a bronze medal in the 2015 Asian Championship in Doha.
Even when Sakshi was picked in the 58-kg category, there were hushed whispers about her selection. Not many know that Sakshi has easily outwrestled Geeta Phogat at the national trials and before that also beat her in the Pro Wrestling League.
What is so remarkable about her Rio Olympics campaign is her ability to bounce back after trailing initially. Probably it speaks something about Sakshi’s immense self-confidence, no way bordering on arrogance.
Also read: Sakshi Malik opens a new chapter in Indian womesn’s wrestling
She trailed Sweden’s Johanna Mattsson 0-4 in her first round bout but responded splendidly to clinch it 5-4, garnering final two points in the closing stages of the bout. Her pre-quarterfinal bout against Moldova’s Mariana Cherdivara was even tighter. She trailed the Mongolian initially but clawed her way back to level at 5-5 and eventually bagged the bout due to the bigger point margin in a single move after both were tied at 5-5
In fact, Sakshi’s first repechage bout against Mongolia’s was the only bout where she took the early lead and there wasn’t any need for a late resurgence. The 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medallist was back to ‘doing the chasing’ in her bronze medal bout against Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova. Even the most ardent Indian wrestling buffs would be have been praying for Sakshi, as she trailed 0-5 at the end of the first period.
The next few minutes was a ‘wow’ moment for Indian wrestling – Sakshi staged a remarkable turnaround first leveling the contest 5-5 and with barely a few seconds to go for the conclusion of the bout, logging three points to win 8-5 to as the national erupted with joy in the wee hours of Thursday.
Sakshi’s bronze medal effort means that she has announced herself on the world stage, and Indian wrestling can hope for many big things from her in the coming years.
