CHENNAI: Despite nursing an elbow injury, Sonam Malik on Wednesday beat Sakshi Malik for the second time in less than two months to make it to the Indian team for the Asian Olympic Games Qualifier. While the victory over the Rio Olympic bronze medallist last month shot the 18-year-old to prominence, Wednesday’s triumph, that too by a fall, added to her reputation.
The qualifier is slated in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from March 27 to 29. Finalists in each weight category will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) organised the trials for women wrestlers in 62kg and 76kg in Lucknow while 60kg Greco-Roman grapplers competed in Sonepat. The trials were necessitated after wrestlers in these categories failed to medal in the Rome Ranking Series and Asian Championships. Despite the fresh trials, the Indian squad remains the same with Kiran winning in 76kg and Greco-Roman wrestler Gyanender securing his place apart from Sonam.
“I sustained an injury in my right elbow in Rome. It hasn’t healed completely yet but I was not thinking much about it,” Sonam said. The Haryana wrestler was trailing 1-2 in the second period with around a minute left when she pinned Sakshi to win the bout. A total of nine wrestlers competed in the 62kg category including 2018 Worlds bronze medallist Pooja Dhanda and 2020 Asian Championship 59kg gold medallist Sarita Mor. Sonam outclassed Radhika 5-1 in the quarterfinal before overcoming Sarita 3-1 in the semis.
Sonam trains at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Sports Institute at Madina, Sonepat under coach Ajmer Malik. “It was a competitive field. I asked Sonam to concentrate on giving her best instead of thinking about the results,” said the coach.Sonam lost the opening bout in Rome to USA’s Macey Ellen Kilty by technical superiority. The teenager though reached the bronze medal bout in the Asian Championships but was defeated by Kyrgyzstan wrestler Aisuluu Tynybekova 11-0.
The wrestler, however, believes the twin failures have made her strong. “The two losses helped me in understanding my weaknesses. I need to improve my leg and ground defence,” she added. Meanwhile, the loss does not necessarily mean an end of the road for Sakshi. “We will again organise trials in categories where wrestlers fail to book Tokyo ticket to pick the best team for the World Qualifier,” said Vinod Tomar, WFI assistant secretary. The last qualifier is scheduled in Sofia, Bulgaria from April 30 to May 3.