People in India glued to their TV sets till 3 AM to witness Sakshi Malik’s Bronze medal bout.
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She would not quit her Olympic dream because of her husband’s stupidity. She’s gone and done one better.
Amid the celebrations over Sakshi Malik’s bronze medal, the Indian contingent at the ongoing Rio Olympics received another piece of good news with doctors announcing that her fellow female wrestler Vinesh Phogat will recover from her injury within two weeks. She has to take support.
Since Sakshi Malik won a Bronze medal in the Olympics, Sorabh Pant called out Bollywood on the prevalent sexism and here’s what he had to say… “I have shown that women should be encouraged”.
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.
Sakshi earned the dramatic win after falling behind 0-5 following the first period in the do-or-die bout. When she was trailing 0-5, there was a near heartbreak.
Women are also sometimes underestimated but Sakshi Malik has proved that women can break all the shackles and be on the top. She belongs outside playing the same games that boys play. It’s there she learnt how to stay focused and despite all that was against her, keep on with the struggle and prevail.
The medal triggered late-night celebrations across India, and Malik’s hometown Rohtak was in a festive mood with dance, music, fireworks and emotions running high through the night. I was reminded time and again that I’m strong, and never let my morale fall. I was confident that the medal is mine. “There was no negativity all day that there would be no medal”. So why not in ten seconds?
“I am really happy for Sakshi”.
The Indian Railways is also going to felicitate the wrestler and give her a handsome prize of ₹60 lakh.
At that point, Malik created history. Going into the last 30 seconds, the score was 5-5.
She jumped on the mat with an ear-to-ear smile before being hoisted by her coach Kuldeep Singh with the Indian tricolour draped around her.
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To be fair, there are Indian male athletes still in the running for medals at Rio. Followed she won Bronze in 60 kgs at Spanish Grand Prix. That elusive medal is no more. Malik told the Press Trust of India.
