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Sonam Malik is running against time to get fit and resume her training in full swing. The young wrestler created history in April after becoming the youngest Indian grappler to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
"This was what I always dreamt about. It is finally happening," Sonam Malik told Sportskeeda.
But the achievement came at a cost. She suffered a knee injury and had to withdraw from the competition. With nearly one month left until the Tokyo Olympics, she has decided to return to her roots, nurse her injury and prepare for her maiden Games.
“It was an unfortunate injury. But all of this is part of the sport. Yes, we are worried about the preparations a little. She had to miss the foreign camp which could have helped her polish her skills. Nonetheless, we have decided to train the desi (traditional) ways until she is fully fit,” Malik’s coach Ajmer told Sportskeeda.
The 19-year-old, who booked India’s Tokyo Olympic ticket in 62kg women’s wrestling, now trains at the Akhada (wrestling pit) at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Sports Complex. Her coach makes her dig the Akhada, something that every Indian wrestler does as part of their training.
Ajmer said that as she is not able to train on the mat, it is necessary to keep up her fitness level. That should keep the Haryana wrestler sharp while she is away from the mat.
"She is recovering well, but she faces trouble while moving. She is doing physiotherapy for it. But we also need to focus on the Tokyo Olympics. While she is still recovering, we are focussing on her upper body strength. Digging up the akhada and gym training are the best way to do it," Ajmer Malik said.
While Ajmer Malik, a former defence personnel, is a little worried about the Tokyo Olympics given the nature of his ward's injury, he believes Sonam Malik would recover in time for the Summer Games.
Sonam Malik's rise and fall
Sonam Malik aspired to become a wrestler from the young age of 12.
At that young age, Sonam Malik aspired to take up the sport her father was forced to abandon. And it wasn't long before she started making her presence felt on the international stage.
Also Read: Bajrang Punia and coach Shako devise a master training plan for Tokyo Olympics.
Five years after she first took up the sport, the teenager found herself competing in the 56 kg weight category at the Asian Cadets Championship in 2017, where she bagged a bronze medal. That was followed up by the first of two World Cadet Championship gold medals in the same year.
However, all the glory came crashing down due to a nerve issue in her right shoulder which affected her arm movement.
"She could not move her arm. She was not able to grip anything. Upon diagnosis, we found out that the nerves in her shoulder were simply not transmitting impulses," Ajmer said.
But a little belief and traditional ayurvedic ways were all that was needed for her to return to the mat.
Also Read: 5 wrestlers who might stop Vinesh Phogat from winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
"We couldn't afford the treatment. So we took the more traditional route. With ayurvedic treatment and a blessing from god helped Sonam (Malik) return to the mat in six months," Sonam Malik's father Rajender said emotionally.
Sonam Malik returns with a bang
Now competing in the 65 kg bracket, the 19-year-old quickly returned to her old dominant self. She won bronze medals in the Asian and World Cadet Championships in 2018.
Also Read: 4 lessons learnt from the Poland Open Wrestling Ranking Series ahead of Tokyo Olympics.
From there, it was all about the Tokyo Olympics. Sonam Malik was fast-tracked into the senior team, owing to her 2019 Asian Cadet Wrestling Championship silver and World Cadet Wrestling Championship gold medal.
But her best came in four clashes against Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik. She beat her senior counterpart four times to become India's No. 1 at 62 kg.
Sonam Malik's plans for Tokyo Olympics
Sonam Malik will be competing in her first Olympics. While her recovery is going good, it is still slow. Her coach Ajmer believes it would take nearly two more weeks for her to get fully fit. They have once again put their hopes on ayurvedic ways to get over the injury.
"It (ayurved) has helped us before, and we are sure it will help us again. She is a champion and very strong mentally. Once she recovers completely, we will switch gears to go full on in training mode. For now, it's just akhada digging and gym twice every day," Ajmer said.
