Bronze medal is result of my 12 years of hard work: Sakshi

TIL Desk Sports/ After ending India’s agonising wait for an Olympic medal at the Rio Games with a bronze medal, Indian women wrestler Sakshi Malik said it was the result of her 12 years of persistent hard work. Sakshi scripted history by becoming the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal and only fourth female athlete from the country to climb to the podium at the biggest sporting event.

“Meri 12 saal ki tapasya rang layi (It’s the result of my 12 years’ fight for day and night). Geeta didi, my senior had qualified for the first time in London,” Sakshi said, with tears of joy in her eyes. “I never thought I would become the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal in wrestling. I hope the remaining wrestlers will also do well,” Sakshi said.

The 23-year-old from Haryana, a silver medallist at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and bronze winner at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, earned a dramatic come-from-behind 8-5 win over Kyrgysztan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova in the bronze medal play-off. “It’s in the women’s section, we have got the first medal for India,” said an ecstatic WFI president Brij Bhushan even as he hugged her in joy.