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Sonam Malik will begin India’s Olympic wrestling campaign on Tuesday. Sonam is the youngest Indian wrestler to qualify for the summer games. She finished second at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in Almaty, Kazakhstan to confirm the 62 kg women’s wrestling quota.
The 19-year-old wrestler from Haryana will face Bolortuya Khurelkhuu of Mongolia in the first round.
Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule
In this article, we will analyze her strengths, weaknesses and possible pathway to the final.
Sonam Malik Swot Analysis
Sonam Malik is not the best wrestler when it comes to technical wrestling. She lacks the prowess of ground defense and speed. But the young wrestler makes up for the weakness with her strength and counter-attacking style.
As one of the national coaches put it, she is more of a Greco-Roman wrestler than a freestyle. Sonam is one of the most powerful grapplers in her weight category and this is key to her gameplay.
Her superior strength helped her beat the 2016 Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik thrice to win the right to represent India.
However, the lack of experience at the big stage might work against her. Sonam Malik took almost a year to adapt to the competitiveness at the highest level before she won her first medal. Incidentally, her medal came at the Olympic Qualifiers.
Sonam Malik’s possible pathway
She will be making her Olympic debut when she faces Khurelkhuu. The Mongolian wrestler is this year’s Asian Championship silver medalist.
If she wins the opening bout, the youngster could face the 2018 world champion and two-time European gold medalist Taybe Yusein Mustafa of Bulgaria in the quarterfinals.
In the semi-final, she could possibly meet medal contender and two-time Asian Champion Yukako Kawai of Japan. The Japanese will need to overcome Lyubov Ovcharova (ROC) in round 1. In the quarterfinals, she will meet the winner of the bout between 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist Amri Marwa (TUN) and 2019 world medalist Henna Johansson (SWE).
Kawai and Sonam clashed at the Asian Championship last year in the semi-final, where the Japanese thumped the Indian wrestler 5-2.
Whoever wins the semi-final clash would face world champion Aisuluu Tynybekova (KGZ), given she wins all her bouts.
Sonam Malik’s schedule, live streaming details
The pre-quarterfinal to semi-final rounds will be held on Tuesday. The medal and repechage match will be held on Wednesday.
Sonam Malik’s bout is the second and last of the pre-quarterfinal round on Mat B. The action will begin at 8:30 a.m. The bout will be broadcast live on Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV.
