Recapping Sakshi Malik’s Bronze medal winning heroics at Rio 2016

"I never thought I would become the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal in wrestling." These were Sakshi Malik’s first words after her decorated triumph and they give an idea of the quantum of her achievement.

Down 5-0 with 2 minutes to go, the bout ended 8-5 in the favour of the 23-year-old as she repeated her efforts in the earlier rounds. However, this win was special. She had not only won a medal, it was the first for India at Rio 2016 and the first one ever for an Indian woman wrestler.

Just at that moment, the nation filled up with emotion and a billion dreams turned into reality. India had registered their first medal of the campaign and in style.

From 18^th August 2016, the terms grit, determination, hard work, comeback and never say die had a new, common synonym - Sakshi Malik.

Sakshi began her Rio campaign in style with a comfortable 3-1 win over Swede Johanna Mattsson. She then came from behind to overturn a 5-1 deficit in her pre-quarterfinals with a stunning four pointer, pipping Mariana Cherdivara Esanu 5-5.

Sakshi then lost to a far superior Russian opponent Valeria Koblova 9-2, but thanks to the Russian’s run to the final, she got a second shot at the medal through repechage. And boy did she did make it count.

Malik first thumped Orkhon 12-3 in the 2^nd round of the repechage and then secured her now famous 8-5 comeback win over Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova to clinch the Bronze medal.

What was remarkable about her final win was that she was trailing 5-0 after the first period, before storming back to take a 7-5 lead. Her final win margin was completed after she was awarded a point after a failed challenge by her opponent.

It was not just the fact that she had clinched the Bronze, but the manner of her performances that won the heart of the nation. Never one to give up, she ensured she brought her best just when it counted, overcoming huge deficits without any difficulty, keeping calm and giving all her fans a thrill-a-minute ride!

The nation couldn’t hide their joy and from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag all had wishes pouring in for the miracle Sakshi Malik had just accomplished.

Just like how the Phogat family fought a thankless battle to pave way for women’s wrestling in their village, Sakshi’s story too was quite similar.

It was back in 2004 when Sakshi started her training under the guidance of coach and mentor Ishwar Dahiya in her village. However, locals objected to it and even berated her parents, telling them that their daughter would become undesirable to potential suitors.

Luckily, she had supportive parents and kept going, initially fighting boys as there were no girls to practice with. Another major breakthrough came in the form of Suman Kundu, a student of Ishwar’s, who went on to clinch gold at the sub-junior nationals, which made the locals eat their words and stop objecting to what was an ambitious project and one for a very bright future.

Just as any champion, Sakshi started young and as we stand, has been rewarded for her hardwork, grit and never say die attitude by what is India’s first medal at Rio 2016. And as we all would agree, firsts are always special, no matter what.

In one of her earlier interviews after securing qualification, she had claimed that she would go for glory at Rio and requested people to have the team’s backs and cheer for them.

When a large population of India stayed up late last night to watch Sakshi’s Bronze medal bout, earned through the repechage, she didn’t disappoint a bit and more than made up for the sleep lost.

A look at her career so far and it is easy to decpiher that Sakshi, for long, had lived in the shadow of one of the best wrestlers of the nation, Geeta Phogat and played second fiddle to her. However, she never let that dampen her spirit or showed a tinge of jealousy.

Instead, she kept her hardwork going, realising it would pay off one day and she would get her chance. And boy, she made it count.

Silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Bronze at the Asian Games in the same year and now, a Bronze at the biggest sporting event in the World, the Olympics; Sakshi is living a dream.

As she claimed, it was her 12 years of rigorous practice, efforts and sacrifices that saw her on the podium. And also, the awesome feeling of the Indian flag being hoisted in the Olympic arena in one that cannot be described.

Lastly, as her coach Ishwar had once said earlier, “Girls once not welcome at the Chotu Ram Stadium have now become its pride.” Now, she is not just the pride of the Chotu Ram Stadium, but of the entire nation.

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