Hundreds of people lined the streets and politicians competed to have selfies with the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal.
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Sakshi also became the first female grappler from India to climb the podium in the quadrennial sports spectacle the other four medals being won by men, with two of those claimed by Sushil Kumar in 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games.
Vij said that the Haryana Government would honour Sakshi Malik with a cash award of Rs2.5 crore as per its sports policy. The State Government soon announced the Olympic bronze medallist wrestler a reward of Rs2.5 crore for her feat.
He said, “Sakshi Malik has done Haryana and the country proud by opening India’s account in the medals tally in the Olympics at Rio in Brazil”.
The same “appalling” system also enabled Pullela Gopichand to produce two champion badminton players – Saina Nehwal and Pusarla Venkata Sindhu – besides world-ranked players Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth. I congratulate her and members of her family on her achievement.
Sakshi is also entitled to Rs 20 lakh earmarked for an Olympic bronze medallist under the Sports Ministry’s Special Awards Scheme. Women in Malik’s home state of Haryana had long not been allowed to participate in the sport.
The 23-year-old grappler from Rohtak in Haryana climbed the medal rostrum with this spectacular come-from-behind win over her Kyrgyz rival.
The second medal from a woman came 12 years later, an energetic Mary Kom bagged a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
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Sindhu has been the talk of the whole nation, courtesy her exceptional showing in Rio, and at such a time, this is the last thing that we needed to hear.
