India’s long wait for its first medal at the Rio Olympics ended when wrestler Sakshi Malik won the bronze in the Women’s freestyle 58 kg category. Owing to her effort at the games, two reputed brands decided to honour her, Mahindra and Mahindra Company is going to gift a car (Thar) while Air India has decided to reward the wrestler with some special facilities.
With big names such as Saina Nehwal and Abhinav Bindra missing out on a podium finish, Sakshi opened the Indian medal tally by virtue of a breath-taking bout against Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan. Having trailed 0-5, the Indian made a marvellous comeback and clinched victory from the jaws of defeat in the dying moments of the match.
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As per the reports from The Times Of India, the wrestler from Haryana recently stated that she took up wrestling so that she could to travel in an aeroplane. On gaining knowledge about her wishes, the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India wrote a brief letter to the Olympian.
The letter wished her on the performance and offered the wrestler and a companion business class return tickets between any two destinations on the entire Air India network valid for a period of 1 year. It was indeed a laudable gesture by the man who holds a ‘Limca’ record of having four “engineering degree equivalents.”
On the other hand, Anand Mahindra, the chairman and managing director of Mahindra and Mahindra informed that he is looking forward to gift a “Thar” to the bronze-medallist. “Thar” is one of the most powerful off-roader SUVs in India. In his tweet, Anand stated, “#SakshiMalik has salvaged the pride of a billion people.This must become the moment when we inspire ourselves to turn Indian sport around.”
Also read: Twitter reacts to Sakshi Malik winning Bronze for India at Rio Olympics
It was also clear from his tweets that he asked Vivek Nayer, the Chief Marketing Officer of Mahindra and Mahindra to consult with Sakshi about the choice of colour and customisation of her car. The Mahindra head also confessed that the “Thar” being manufactured for rough and tough roads suits the wrestler perfect.
With the majority of the Indian contingent set to return home empty handed, Sakshi has been an exception. Another athlete who made her mark at the games is shuttler PV Sindhu, who is confirmed of at least a silver medal in badminton.
