According to a report in The Economics Times, Rohtak today erupted in joy and celebrations after local girl Sakshi Malik made Haryana and the country proud by winning a Bronze medal in wrestling at the Rio Olympics. But, little did she and her parents knew at that time that one day she would become the first woman wrestler from the country to win an Olympic medal.
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Babita Kumari lost her opening women’s 53 kg category wrestling bout 1-5 against Maria Prevolaraki of Greece and got eliminated from the Games. “Din raat ka change hone wala hai (The difference will be like between day and night)”, she said. It’s a success of my 12 years of dedication.
Oler Sakshi Malik, 23, hails from Haryana, a region of India made infamous in recent years for several highly publicized rape cases and garnering one of the nation’s highest rates of femicide, the practice of selectively aborting female fetuses and killing or abandoning baby girls.
The media was there in strength at the elegant two-storied house in the quiet neighbourhood.
Her bronze medal-winning feat was like a balm as it came after Vinesh Phogat was forced out of the 48-kg competition due to an unfortunate knee injury suffered during her quarterfinal bout against Chinese rival Sun Yanan. The match did showcase her strong will to win and also the great ability that she had in her.
The soft-spoken family had not been able to even eat a decent meal since Sakshi’s medal was confirmed. “I want to see her winning a gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and we will give her all the support she needs”, Sudesh said.
And despite the odds being stacked against them, some Indian women still have it in them to go snatch an Olympic medal.
Perhaps her tremendous will to fight, even after trailing in all the three bouts leading up to that bronze in Rio, came from the spirit which an average woman has to dig from to survive in the badlands of northern India where the fairer sex is yet to get a fair deal.
Interestingly, her elder brother was named after cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar.
Besides this the Indian Railways has also promoted her as a gazetted officer. Despite a sweet tooth, Sakshi hasn’t had candies or fried food or ghee for more than 7-8 years.
Sakshi Mallik, who is she??
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Subir said from childhood Sakshi was interested in wrestling and they had always backed her in her endeavour. He was also the first person she spoke to after the win.
