Sakshi Malik, a former Indian freestyle wrestler, was born on September 3, 1992. She became the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal when she took home bronze in the 58 kg division at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari, and Geeta Phogat, are members of the JSW Sports Excellence Program. Scroll down to read about India’s First Female Olympic Medalist Wrestler Sakshi Malik.
India’s First Female Olympic Medalist Wrestler Sakshi Malik
Malik had earlier won bronze in the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha and silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She is among the organizers of the Indian wrestlers’ 2023 protest, which is taking on right now against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Following the appointment of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s close aide to the position of WFI chief, she declared her retirement from wrestling.
Early life
Malik was born on September 3, 1992, in the Rohtak district of Haryana’s Mokhra village. His parents are Sudesh Malik, a supervisor at a nearby health facility, and Sukhbir, a bus conductor for Delhi Transport Corporation. Her father claims that she was inspired to start wrestling after witnessing her grandfather, Badlu Ram, compete. At the age of twelve, she started wrestling instruction at an akhara in Chhotu Ram Stadium, Rohtak, under the guidance of coach Ishwar Dahiya. Nonetheless, four individuals claimed to be Sakshi Malik’s coach: Kuldeep Malik, Ishwar Dahiya, Mandeep Singh, and Rajbir Singh. Sakshi subsequently filed an affidavit with the sports department stating that Mandeep Singh and Ishwar Dahiya were her coaches.
India’s First Female Olympic Medalist Wrestler Sakshi Malik: Career
2010 was Malik’s first international triumph as a professional wrestler when she took home the bronze in the 58 kg freestyle division at the Junior World Championships. Gold in the 60 kg class at the 2014 Dave Schultz International Tournament. She continued to play the game with the same fervor and attention after that.
2014
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Malik won her quarterfinal match against Cameroonian Edwige Ngono Eyia, 4–0. She played Canadian Braxton Stone in the semifinals, and she won 3-1 to guarantee a medal for herself. In a well-fought match, Aminat Adeniyi of Nigeria emerged victorious against her, 4–0. She competed against Senegalese athlete Anta Sambou in the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Championships in Tashkent, winning 4-1. After falling short of Finland’s Petra Olli 1-3, she was eliminated from the competition.
2015
Malik fought his way through two of the five rounds in the 60 kg class at the 2015 Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar, to take third place and the bronze medal. She competed against Luo Xiaojuan of China in the opening round, but the fall verdict defeated her 4-5. She defeated Munkhtuya Tungalag of Mongolia 13–0 in the second round after making a tremendous comeback, but Yoshimi Kayama of Japan defeated her in the third. In the fourth round, she defeated Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Kassymova to win the bronze medal.
2016
Malik defeated Zhang Lan of China in the 58 kg semifinal of the Olympic World Qualifying Tournament in May 2016 to earn a spot in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She defeated Mariana Cherdivara of Moldova in the Round of 16 and Johanna Mattsson of Sweden in the Round of 32 in the Olympics. She qualified for the repechage round and won her first fight against Pürevdorjiin Orkhon of Mongolia after losing to Valeria Koblova of Russia, the eventual finalist. After trailing 0–5 at one point in the repechage medal playoff, she defeated Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan to win the bronze medal, becoming the first female wrestler from India to win an Olympic medal.
2017
‘Colors Delhi Sultans’ was Sakshi Malik’s team in the Pro Wrestling League’s second season, hosted in January 2017. Additionally, she has been highlighted in the JSW Group-sponsored #EveryWomanStrong campaign for Women’s Day.
2022
She participated in the Yasar Dogu Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2022. In her category, she took home the bronze medal at the 2022 Tunis Ranking Series competition in Tunis, Tunisia. She went on to win the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.
Personal life
Malik is a member of the JSW Sports Excellence Program and works for Indian Railways in the Delhi division’s commercial department in the Northern Railway zone. She was upgraded to gazetted officer rank from senior clerk after winning the bronze medal in Rio.
Malik is a graduate of Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak with a master’s degree in physical education. She was named the university’s director of wrestling in September 2016.
Malik announced her engagement to fellow wrestler Satyawart Kadian in an interview immediately after the Rio Olympics. The couple planned to tie the knot later in 2016. They later wed on April 2, 2017. In addition to competing at the international level, Satyawart Kadian is a medallist in both the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
She was detained along with others by Delhi police in May 2023 for their involvement in protests.
India’s First Female Olympic Medalist Wrestler Sakshi Malik: Awards and recognition
- Padma Shri (2017) – fourth highest Indian national honor
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (2016) – highest sporting honor in India
- Multiple cash prizes totaling over ₹5.7 crore (US$710,000) from the Indian Railways, the Indian Olympic Association, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Government of Delhi, various state governments, including Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, from private bodies such as the JSW Group, and political groups including the Indian National Lok Dal.
- Promotion to gazetted officer rank by her employer, the Indian Railways.
- Class 2 job offer from the Government of Haryana.
- 500 yd2 land grant from the Government of Haryana.
In popular culture
German broadcaster Deutsche Welle included young wrestler Payal Sharma in a little documentary about women in wrestling in 2022, in which Malik made an appearance. The documentary explores gender stereotypes that are still prevalent in India, specifically about women in sports, and shows Malik coaching Sharma toward becoming a professional wrestler.
How Sakshi Malik landed India’s first women’s wrestling Olympic medal
Sakshi Malik was instrumental in securing India’s women’s wrestling legacy, even if Geeta Phogat’s gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games catapulted the sport to prominence.
The first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal was Sakshi Malik. To think, though, she was not even invited to the Summer Games.
Sakshi Malik, who was competing in the 58kg class alongside Geeta Phogat, who was at the time the face of Indian women’s wrestling, was long neglected in favor of her well-acclaimed countrymate.
Before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Geeta was anticipated to carry the women’s wrestling flag at the Summer Games. However, Geeta Phogat was unable to advance past the qualifying round and was defeated in the first repechage round at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, an Olympic qualifier that took place in September, meaning she was unable to guarantee her place at the Summer Games.
Sakshi Malik’s Rio Olympics call
In April 2016, Geeta Phogat got another chance to qualify for the Games, this time at an Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Mongolia. But she gave up in the opening round, forfeiting her chance to compete for the two available quota spots.
Geeta also decided to withdraw from the match in Mongolia. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) was not amused by this, and the wrestler was later suspended indefinitely. Sakshi Malik was then selected for the final Olympic qualifiers in Istanbul, Turkey, the following month.
To secure a quota spot for Rio 2016, Sakshi Malik defeated Zhang Lan of China in the semi-final in Istanbul based solely on criteria. Her Olympic gold was beginning to take shape.
Before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Geeta was anticipated to carry the women’s wrestling flag at the Summer Games. However, Geeta Phogat was unable to advance past the qualifying round and was defeated in the first repechage round at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, an Olympic qualifier that took place in September, meaning she was unable to guarantee her place at the Summer Games.
Sakshi Malik’s Olympic medal moment
Sakshi Malik, an Indian wrestler, did not think she would win a medal in Rio 2016, even though she qualified for her first Olympics.
At the Rio 2016 Olympics, India’s medal chances were dependent on Abhinav Bindra, Jitu Rai, Sania Mirza, Vinesh Phogat, and Saina Nehwal.
However, the tennis players and shooters came up empty, thus India’s expectations were directed towards wrestling, a sport that had promised medals in the previous two editions thanks to Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt.
Sakshi Malik had to win an Olympic medal after witnessing her buddy Vinesh Phogat being stretchered out of the Carioca Arena with an injury.
Sakshi Malik, who was competing in the 58kg class, won a couple of close matches. In the qualification round, she overcame Johanna Mattsson of Sweden 5-4, and in the pre-quarterfinals, she defeated Mariana Cherdivara of Moldova 5-5 on criteria.
Sakshi Malik lost 2-9 against Valeria Koblova of Russia in the quarterfinals, who went on to win the silver medal at Rio. Sakshi advanced to the replay rounds after Koblova advanced to the final.
She defeated Mongolia’s Purevdorjiin Orkhon 12-3 in the rematch to set up a bronze medal match with Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova, the Asian champion.
Sakshi Malik’s Olympic bronze medal match
Sakshi Malik’s cautious strategy in the bronze medal match backfired, as Tynybekova easily won the first round with a 5-0 lead. Sakshi, however, would later pull off one of the best comebacks in Indian wrestling history.
Sakshi Malik proceeded to attack her opponent’s legs, delivering a string of takedowns that allowed her to recover and tie the fight at five points.
Nevertheless, Tynybekova retained her lead based on criteria, having taken the lead early in the fight with a four-point takedown.
But Sakshi Malik would escape a takedown attempt with only a few seconds left in the contest, exposing her opponent once more with an incredible move that sealed the bronze. A maneuver that astounded both Tynybekova and herself.
In the center of the mat, the Indian wrestler leaped with excitement. Sakshi Malik was lifted onto her coach Kuldeep Malik’s shoulders shortly after, and she celebrated by hoisting an Indian flag above her head.
Sakshi Malik made Olympic history as the first Indian female wrestler to earn a medal.
“For any athlete, that is the ultimate feeling,” Sakshi remarked. “I got to wave the Indian flag at such a big stage—that was my proudest moment.”
A country of more than a billion people rejoiced at home. In her time, Sakshi Malik has been representing India both literally and figuratively in Rio 2016. Later in the year, she was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
Sakshi Malik’s Rio 2016 Olympic wrestling results: women’s 58 kg
