Rio Olympics
Wrestler Sakshi Malik wins bronze for India, ending the country’s painful wait for a medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by winning the bronze in the 58kg category. The brave women from the Indian state of Haryana has made her country of 1.3 Billion people proud today.
She has officially become the first Indian woman wrestler to win a medal in the Olympics and the 4th Indian woman to win a medal in the Olympics, joining the list of famous Indians – Mary Kom, Karnam Malleswari and Saina Nehwal.
Born on September 3, 1992, in Mokhra village in Rohtak, Haryana, Sakshi Malik has always dreamed of becoming a wrestler following the footprint of her wrestler grandfather. With the help of her supportive parents, Sudesh and Sukhbir, she began training at the age of 12 under under the guidance of Ishwar Dahiya at an akhara in the Chotu Ram stadium. She and her coach had to face a lot of opposition from the locals for having taken up a sport which was “not for girls”
Featured Image Credits: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber | Toru Hanai/Reuters
