Sakshi lucky to have a perfect home environment

Unlike many Indian sportspersons — men and women — who see sports as a means of improving their lifestyle, Sakshi had a fairly comfortable upbringing. They may not be rich, but Sukhbir and Sudesh — her parents — did not eke out a hand-to-mouth existence to provide for their daughter.

Sakshi Malik with her family at her residence in Rohtak.

It’s easy to divide the state of Haryana into two categories — Gurgaon/Faridabad and the rest. The premise is that the two towns are more a part of “metropolitan” Delhi than “backward” Haryana.

A short trip to Rohtak, across the other end of Delhi, does enough to show how misconceived such notions are. The road connecting the city to Delhi is a wide four-lane highway ensuring the distance is covered in quick time.

Rohtak itself begins as any other Indian town — a well-developed suburb appears before the various residential sectors. It is in this town, in the quiet Sector 4 neighbourhood, that Sakshi Malik first dreamt of becoming, of all things, a wrestler, an Olympian, a medallist.

It wasn’t easy. House No. 45 is just like any other row house in the locality. The neighbours are not textbook elite. The huge hoardings outside — sponsored by various television channels as backdrop for their special programmes — distinguish it from the rest of the neighbourhood. The prosperity is visible, and any expectations of women shrinking from public view are quickly junked. Women do not go around with their head and face covered here and girls wear jeans and ride two-wheelers like any other teenager. “We aren’t as backward as people think we are,” Sakshi’s brother Sachin laughs.

They certainly aren’t. The house is double-storied and elegant. Sakshi has her own room that has walls of fame, chock-a-block with her photographs and medals. The stairs leading up to her room are equally photograph-lined. The gym inside the house is fully equipped but Sakshi is the only who uses it.

Unlike many Indian sportspersons — men and women — who see sports as a means of improving their lifestyle, Sakshi had a fairly comfortable upbringing. They may not be rich, but Sukhbir and Sudesh — her parents — did not eke out a hand-to-mouth existence to provide for their daughter.

Sukbhir is employed with the Delhi Transport Corporation as a bus conductor and has been promised a promotion now. Her mother works with the Women and Child Welfare department of the Haryana government and has also been promised a promotion. Agricultural land to the tune of about 16 acres and Sukhbir’s business as a property dealer helped the family afford a decent middle-class lifestyle.

She wasn’t bad in her studies, Sachin says, but the respect her grandfather got as ‘pehelwaanji’ had more attraction.

“Sakshi was good in studies. She never ignored it even when she was training for almost 6-7 hours a day apart from spending time in the gym. She loves sweets, but hasn't had one ever since she joined the national camp as a junior. It’s her determination that has seen her reach this level,” Sachin explains.

The family environment played a strong part in breaking the mould of a stereotypical Haryanvi girl and also firmly place Rohtak on the women’s wrestling map. The hegemony of Bhiwani has been broken with Sakshi coming out of the shadows of the more famous Phogat sisters. It is a patriarchal household but has its strong women characters. Sakshi’s mother, Sudesh, has been her strong supporter all through the 12 years of training and sacrifice.

“I wanted her to do well in studies. I told her to leave the sport for good but Sakshi bahut ziddi hai (she is very adamant). She promised not to neglect her education and has kept her word,” Sudesh says. Sakshi completed her masters in physical education from the Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak.

Even the day after the famous victory, it was her mother who kept sanity in the midst of the madness that followed the horde of media persons, who had assembled there. Barring a few rooms for privacy, it is an open house even now.

In the early hours of August 18, as India woke up to ‘Raksha Bandhan’ and brothers promised, yet again, to protect their sisters, Sachin did not have the rakhi he cherished. Instead, he had tears of joy, and his eyes were red because of lack of sleep — just like everyone else in the family.

The neighbours had a bemused look that went from the indulgent to the irritated, as the day chugged along. Sudesh, who refused to crib at the number of people walking in and out of her house, said: “There is no irritation, it’s an honour for the country what she has done and if people want to congratulate us, it’s an honour.” Her request for a few minutes of rest, her voice lost, was never kept.

Sakshi’s father, Sukhbir Malik, had it easier. He would slip out once in a while “to meet some friends” and, perhaps, escape the jamboree. Sudesh had no such luck — the woman of the house and responsible for taking care of the “visitors”.

Some things are still traditional in this house. The upbringing of the daughter of the house isn’t one of them, though. Neither are her dreams, fortunately.