From Rohtak to Rio, Sakshi Malik in 10 Points
Sakshi Malik created history to become the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal when she clinched the 58 kg freestyle bronze.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: August 18, 2016 11:48 AM IST
Highlights
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India finally got a medal at Rio 2016 via Sakshi Malik
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Sakshi earned a bronze in women's 58 kg freestyle wrestling
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She is the first Indian woman to win a wrestling medal at Olympics
Haryana's Sakshi Malik has won India its first medal of the Rio Olympics, clinching the women's wrestling bronze in the 58 kg freestyle category on Wednesday.
1) Sakshi, 23, is the first Indian woman wrestler ever to win an Olympic medal. Her bronze came after a 12-day medal drought for India since this year's Games began.
2) Sakshi Malik was born on September 3, 1992 in Rohtak, Haryana, about 75 km from Delhi. Her father has said people from her village Mokhra will receive her with "dhol-baja, yaar-dost" when she returns to India.
3) Sakshi, her father Sukhbir Malik said, is as good at academics as she is at sport.
4) Sakshi said she has worked hard for 12 years for this winning moment. In conservative Haryana, where girls were not allowed in sports like wrestling, Sakshi fought boys in practice.
5) She began training at the age of 12 at a local akhara under coach Ishwar Dahiya, who has been training wrestlers since 1993. There were protests when Mr. Dahiya began training Sakshi.
6) In Rio on Wednesday, Sakshi had to fight in five bouts to clinch the bronze. She lost the quarter-finals but got a second chance through repechage. If a competitor loses in earlier rounds, he/she goes out of contention for gold or silver and enters the repechage bracket for bronze.
7) Sakshi's Kyrgystan opponent Aisuluu Tynybekova dominated the bout, but the Indian wrestler staged a strong comeback in the dying seconds, winning 8-5.
8) Sakshi is only the fourth Indian woman athlete to win an Olympic medal after weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari, boxer Mary Kom and badminton star Saina Nehwal.
9) Sakshi first made headlines when she bagged a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the women's 58 kg freestyle category. She had also won a bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Championships in Doha
10) Sakshi's bronze is India's fifth wrestling medal in the Olympic Games. It is also India's 25th medal in the Olympics.