Sakshi's coach: 'Her medal will inspire others'

"It is her dedication, determination and hard work which stood her in good stead. She was good in her technique and tactics and was very quick to pick up things. She improved with each passing week and month. For her, the target was clear," Kuldeep Malik says of his famous ward.

Kuldeep Malik celebrates with Sakshi after her bronze medal-winning effort in Rio.

It was a boisterous scene, as Kuldeep Singh Malik lifted Sakshi Malik on his shoulders and ran around the mat to celebrate the 23-year-old's bronze medal-winning effort in the women’s 58 kg freestyle in the Rio Olympics.

“I have also competed in the Olympics, but I was happier when Sakshi got the medal for the country. It is a big honour and a dream come true. It made the country proud. Our National flag was raised at the Olympics. I am happy that I played a part in this,” says an extremely delighted Malik. “I am sure we can take this forward and help women wrestlers win gold medals in the next Olympics.”

Recalling how Sakshi banked on her determination to emerge from the shadows of the more famous Geeta Phogat and establish her own identity, Malik says in the last few months the Rohtak girl improved on every aspect of her game to be the deserving winner of an Olympic medal.

“It is her dedication, determination and hard work which stood her in good stead. She was good in her technique and tactics and was very quick to pick up things. She improved with each passing week and month. For her, the target was clear. She always wanted to win an Olympic medal. Whether it is technique, tactics, fitness, endurance or mental toughness — she improved on every aspect.

“We used to give them examples of good wrestlers who have done well at the top level. In the last few months whenever there was a fight I used to go there, note down the positive and negative areas, analyse them with the wrestlers and make them practise hard to get rid of the weak links. Sakshi was always keen to improve.”

According to Mailk, Sakshi’s quiet ambition propelled her to the top. “Her target was very definite. She thought that if Sushil Kumar can win medals for the country, then the girls can too. Her confidence and self-belief helped her in this... Always regular for her training, wrestling came first for her.

“The introduction of Pro Wrestling League (PWL) also helped the women wrestlers, including Sakshi (who beat senior rival Geeta in the PWL). It provided world-class competitions at home and lifted their confidence level.”

Malik agrees that even though India had earlier produced some world-class women wrestlers, including Alka Tomar, Geetika Jakhar, Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari, Sakshi’s medal has provided the biggest fillip to the sport.

“No doubt, Sakshi’s medal will boost women’s wrestling. In any kind of National championship, starting from the cadet to the top level, the participation of girls is bound to go up.

“Since Sakshi won the medal, I have been flooded with phone calls from parents who are interested in putting their daughters in wrestling. Wrestling is popular in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and the craze for women’s wrestling will increase further in these areas. The medal and the movies on wrestling have created a great atmosphere for women’s wrestling.”

Mention the contribution of the Master, Chandgi Ram, in promoting woman wrestlers, Malik says the legend awakened the wrestling fraternity to women’s participation in the sport.

“The contribution of Masterji is immense. He used to train his own daughters and other promising girls, take them in his own car to different competitions. He used to scold the dangal organisers if they did not have any women’s wrestling bouts. He always said, ‘You may not give women wrestlers any money but at least organise fights for them so that people will come and see them and the sport will become popular’.”

Amidst this air of positivity, can India climb the ladder and be counted alongside the elite nations, like Japan and Canada, in women’s wrestling?

Malik says the task is tough but can be achieved. “These countries quickly established themselves as soon as women’s wrestling made it to the Olympics in 2004. In our country, the awareness about women’s wrestling improved with medals in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But there was a time, in the 1990s — when I used to wrestle — women’s wrestling was looked down upon and even the presence of a woman referee in any competition raised eyebrows,” he says.

“Slowly our girls started winning medals in important international events and four years back, Geeta became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics. This year we had three girls in the Olympics. Hope, more girls will do well and make India a wrestling powerhouse. It is not easy though. Since the overall standard of women’s wrestling has gone up manifold, we have to work really hard.

“We have to give more attention to the three heavier weights and put in some serious work to bring the standard up. If we relax and stay content with this Olympic medal, then we will slip.”