Parents come and ask me how to make their daughters good wrestlers: Sakshi Malik

Mumbai: Sakshi Malik has come a long way since her humble beginnings in the field of wrestling. Born in a rural village named Mokhra, some 25 kilometres away from Rohtak district in Haryana, it took 12 years of toil and hard work that ushered the way from Rohtak to Rio.

Upon her return back to India, the Haryana kudi brought along a prestigious bronze, etching her name into the history books as she became the first Indian woman wrestler to bag a medal at the Olympics.

Her success not only injected a massive boost for the sport in the country but also provided a major upliftment for women empowerment, particularly in Haryana, where girls still don't gain the upper hand over the opposite gender. While there is a skewed sex ratio in the state, the baby-faced wrestler has changed the wrestling stereotype predominated by males.

“The stereotype has changed quite a lot in the past few months. Wrestling was termed as a male sport, but now the mindset has completely changed. When I started, there were very few wrestlers. Not only boys but a lot of girls are involved nowadays in the sport.

“Now parents come to me and ask how to get their daughters into wrestling and garner their interest in the sport. They also ask me about training, nutrition and various other stuff. So I feel really proud having changed the mindset there. The facilities are also improving day by day and I feel the sport will just get better with time,” the 25-year-old said in an exclusive interview.

Asked how she prepares mentally ahead of each bout, the grappler stated it all boiled down to training well.

“Wrestling is more of a contact sport but it’s very crucial to train your mind as well. But mental preparation mainly depends on the type of training you do. Your confidence level increases after training, your mind gets stronger knowing that you have prepared well,” she explained.