CHENNAI: Going through some of Sakshi Malik’s recent Twitter posts, one thing becomes evident immediately: she is working overtime on her physical fitness. Not without a reason. The 63kg freestyle class, her event at Jakarta, will be the third time she will be competing in a different weight class since she won bronze as a 58kg competitor at the Rio Olympics in 2016. To get ready, she has been spending more and more time in the gym after coming back with a bronze at the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast.
“I have been working extensively on my physical fitness,” she told Express a day before leaving to an exposure trip to Turkey. “... spending a lot of time at the JSW Institute in Bellary and at a camp inside the SAI premises in Lucknow, where I have been spending time with their trainers and physios on just bringing myself to peak physical fitness and maintaining it. After the Olympics, I have transitioned to a heavier weight category so I have had to train physically for that.”
To say that physical fitness is important to a wrestler is to state the bleeding obvious but to maintain one’s body shape while moving up three weight classes inside 18 months is impressive, to say the least. Which is exactly why the upcoming Asian Games (and the subsequent World Championships in Budapest) is an incredibly important one for the 25-year-old. The next few months could also be historic. Four of the five Indian women to have won individual medals at the Olympics have also won gongs at Worlds as well as at the Asian Games. Sakshi has the opportunity to join PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Karnam Malleswari and MC Mary Kom in the next few months.
Does she believe it is within reach before the year is out? “I want to be standing on top of the podium every time I go to a tournament,” she says. “I have confidence in myself that it is achievable (medalling at the Asian Games). However, confidence is one thing, but what happens on that day is another thing.”
She does know a thing or two about confidence not necessarily materialising into gold as CWG showed. She is also aware of the criticism that came her way after ‘only’ returning with a bronze.
To try and give herself the best chance of realising her goals, she has opted to feature at Yasar Dogu, an international ranking event in Turkey from Friday. It is a vital Asiad tune-up event for her because of lack of match practice (it will only be her sixth international competition since Olympics). She does concede the meet, as well as the overall exposure trip, comes at an important time. “To get as much exposure to other people in my category and prepare myself as much as possible against them,” she tells about the importance of the Turkey meet.
If the prep goes as per plan and she is back to the top of her game, do not bet against Sakshi breaking what many consider to be unattainable for an Indian woman wrestler — a gold at the Asiad. It’s never been done before but obstacles, as Sakshi herself tells, are meant to be broken.
swaroop@newindianexpress.com