Sakshi Malik records comprehensive victory in first competitive match post-Rio

Sakshi Malik (white) was on top throughout her bout against Pooja Dhanda

What’s the story?

Sakshi Malik returned to the mat for the first time after her bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, leading the Delhi Sultans in the second season of the Pro Wrestling League against the Jaipur Ninjas. She recorded a scintillating 16-0 victory against Pooja Dhanda in the 58 kg category clash, claiming the win via technical superiority as she clinched a 15-point lead with half-a-minute still to play in the second round.

Her win, however, was in vain as her side lost the overall fixture with Malik's victory coming after her side were already behind 4-1 and just two bouts remaining. "I'm glad to return to competition in such strong fashion. I have learnt a lot from my 15-day experience in Rio and this win comes as a good boost in confidence," said the 24-year old.

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Malik, who is a three-time national champion, was making her first competitive appearance in months and after a tight start, she dominated proceedings and gave her opponent no chance at all. Her bout was essentially a dead rubber but she didn’t put a foot wrong and dispatched her opponent with finesse.

Dhanda, her opponent, is also a former national champion at both junior and senior level and was making her first competitive bow in nearly two years after undergoing surgery for her injury. She acknowledged that her rival was superior to her in all aspects and congratulated Malik on her fine performance.

The heart of the matter

The first two minutes of the initial round saw both grapplers playing it safe and trying to keep their defences solid. Malik opened up a 2-0 lead 20 seconds into the third minute after Dhanda was penalised for passivity. However, with just 20 seconds left in the round, Malik performed a swift takedown and rolled over her opponent twice to pick up a total of six points.

Also read: NCR Punjab Royals' Pankaj Rana clinches nail-biting win in all-Indian clash

Malik waited for the right time to strike in the second round as well and picked up another six points with a similar combination towards the end of the fourth minute. With thirty seconds left in the bout, Dhanda was struck by another takedown that signalled the end of the match at 16-0 – a win by technical superiority.

What next?

This was Malik’s and the Sultans’ first game of the tournament, which ended in a narrow loss. They will now face the NCR Punjab Royals in an enticing encounter on Saturday.

The Jaipur Ninjas are now on top of the standings, tied with the Haryana Hammers, after their second win in two fixtures. They now go up against the Mumbai Maharathi, who have lost two games in two, on Monday.

Sportskeeda’s Take

Malik showed great poise and confidence in her five-and-a-half minutes on the mat, which shows that she has continued to work hard after her successes at the Olympics last year. She said that after the Olympics, her confidence increased immensely and she learned a lot from her time in Rio watching the top grapplers in the world train and contest against each other, which is a positive indicator.

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Edited by Staff Editor