CHENNAI: She might have lost to teenager Sonam Malik during the selection trials held for picking the India team for the upcoming Asian Olympic Games Qualifier but Sakshi Malik has not lost hope yet.
In her bid to keep her Olympic dream alive, the Haryana wrestler took an unconventional path by competing in the non-Olympic weight category trials in Lucknow on Sunday. And by upstaging two rivals including the South Asian Games (SAG) gold medallist Anita Sheoran in the 65kg final, the 27-year-old booked a berth in the national squad for the Asian Championships.
The Wrestling Federation (WFI) of India had earlier made it clear that participation in the Olympic qualifier will depend on grapplers’ performance in the Rome’s Ranking Series and Asian Championships. It means those, who were selected in the Olympic weight categories, have to prove their mettle in these two tournaments before staking claims for the qualifier. Here lies the opportunity for Sakshi to make it to the qualifier in 62kg.
“The Rio bronze made me who I am today. Since the Olympic success, I have been dreaming of representing the country in the Tokyo Games and putting in efforts accordingly. The loss in selection trials was unfortunate but I cannot let it go after four years of hard work,” Sakshi told this daily.
She has to change her weight category to compete in the second trials but the wrestler said it doesn’t matter as her goal is to compete in as many events as possible before the Games. “In an Olympic year, it’s always good to keep competing to assess yourself. I have competed in the 65kg in the past but this time, the goal is to make it to the India squad for the Olympic qualifier via a non-Olympic weight category.”
The WFI also decided that India will compete in Rome only in six Olympic weight categories, which practically means Sakshi has only one event before the qualifier to stay in hunt. A medal in the Asian event alone cannot guarantee her a place as Sonam’s performance will decide her future. Sakshi, though, is not losing sleep over it. “Focus is on my performance as other things are not in my control. I can only hope for a positive result.”