Sakshi Malik (born 3 September 1992) is an Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics.
She was born in India’s Haryana state, where women were for some time not allowed to take part in wrestling events.
The 23-year-old started training young, having gained support from her parents to pursue the sport. Media reports say locals initially berated her parents, telling them that their daughter would become undesirable to potential suitors.
But she went on to earn a silver medal at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and walked away with the bronze at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
She comes from the district of Rohtak, which gained notoriety in 2014, after two sisters fought back against a group of men who accosted them on a public bus. The state of Haryana is also known for having the most severe gender imbalance in India a sign, campaigners say, of high levels of female foeticide.
Women’s wrestling really took off in India in the mid-1990s. But it was not until 2002 that girls were allowed to train with boys in Haryana.
Now all three of India’s female wrestlers at the Olympics, a record for the country in any case, are from that state.
Picture Credit : Google
