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By winning the gold medal at the international level on Friday in Almaty after a long gap, India’s Rio Olympic bronze medalist wrestler Sakshi Malik set the tone for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The 29-year-old from Haryana had been out of form post the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and has struggled during domestic as well as international competitions.
Sakshi lost the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games qualification event held last year to teenage wrestler Sonam Malik. However, she regained her form last month by winning a berth for the Commonwealth Games in Lucknow. Sonam has been nursing a niggle and wasn’t impressive in the Commonwealth Games selection trials.
At the Almaty World Ranking Series on Friday, Sakshi won gold in the 62kg category. The Indian wrestler was steady in her performance throughout the Almaty event.
While Sakshi outplayed Irina Kuznetsova of Kazakhstan in her opener, Uzbekistan’s Rushana Abdirasulova was her victim in the second round. In the medal round, Sakshi dominated the bout against Kuznetsova. She eventually pinned her rival to pocket the gold. The last time Sakshi won gold was at the 2017 Commonwealth Championships held in South Africa.
Mansi Ahlawat won gold in the 57kg category by defeating Emma Tissina Emma of Kazakhstan 3-0.
Divya Kakran won the third gold for India in the 68kg category. The Indian wrestler won her opening two bouts with consummate ease, but lost her third in a competition that had only four competitors in the fray. Mongolia’s Bolortungalag Zoright also won two bouts, but Divya was declared the winner because of better results in the competition.
Pooja won bronze in 76kg category in the Ranking Series that will conclude on June 5 in Almaty.
Meanwhile, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will send a strong 40-member team, including women’s group, for Asian Wrestling Championships, scheduled to be held in Manama, Bahrain from July 2-10. India will compete in both the U20 and U15 categories in Bahrain.
