Wikipedia

Sakshi Malik

For the film actress, see Sakshi Malik (actress).

Sakshi Malik (born 3 September 1992) is a former Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics,[9] she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics.[10][11] In 2017, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award and in 2024, she became the first Indian wrestler to feature in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[12][13] She is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat.[14]

Sakshi Malik
Malik in 2016
Personal information
Born (1992-09-03) 3 September 1992 (age 32)
Mokhra, Haryana, India
Height162 cm (5 ft 4 in) (2016)[1]
Weight58 kg (128 lb) (2016)[1]
SpouseSatyawart Kadian
Sport
CountryIndia
Event58 kg freestyle
Coached byMandeep Singh (2010- till now) Ishwar Dahiya (2004-2009)[2][3]
Medal record
Women's Freestyle Wrestling
Representing  India
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 58 kg
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 62 kg
Silver medal – second place 2014 Glasgow 58 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast 62 kg
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 New Delhi 60 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Doha 60 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Bishkek 62 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Xi'an 62 kg
Commonwealth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Johannesburg[4] 62 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Johannesburg[5] 63 kg
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Budapest[6] 59 kg
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2012 Almaty[7] 63 kg
Silver medal – second place 2009 Manila[8] 59 kg

Malik had previously won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha.[15][16] She was one of the leaders of the 2023 Indian wrestlers' protest against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.[17] In December 2023, she announced her retirement from wrestling after the election of a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as WFI chief.[18]

Early life

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Malik was born on 3 September 1992 in Mokhra village[19] of Haryana's Rohtak district to Sukhbir, a bus conductor with Delhi Transport Corporation, and Sudesh Malik, a supervisor at a local health clinic.[20][21] According to her father, she was motivated to take up wrestling from seeing her grandfather Badlu Ram, who was also a wrestler.[20][22] She began training in wrestling at the age of 12 under a coach, Ishwar Dahiya, at an Akhara in Chhotu Ram Stadium, Rohtak. However, there were four people out there namely, Kuldeep Malik, Ishwar Dahiya, Mandeep Singh, and Rajbir Singh who claimed themselves as the coach of Sakshi Malik.[23] Later on, Sakshi herself submitted an affidavit with the sports department, informing that Ishwar Dahiya and Mandeep Singh are her coaches.[24][3]

Career

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Malik's first success as a professional wrestler in the international arena came in 2010 at the Junior World Championships where she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg  freestyle event.[25] At the 2014 Dave Schultz International Tournament, she won gold in the 60 kg category. And after that, she never stopped and maintained her passion and dedication to the game.[26]

2014

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Malik began her campaign at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games winning her quarterfinal bout against Edwige Ngono Eyia of Cameroon by a 4–0 margin. In the semifinal, she faced Braxton Stone of Canada whom she defeated 3–1 to assure herself of a medal. Her opponent in the final was Aminat Adeniyi of Nigeria who defeated her 4–0 in a closely contested bout.[27] At the 2014 World Championships in Tashkent, she faced Anta Sambou of Senegal in the Round of 16, and won the bout 4–1. She crashed out of the tournament after a 1–3 loss to Petra Olli of Finland.[28]

2015

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At the 2015 Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar, in a total of five rounds in the 60  kg category, Malik battled through two rounds to finish in the third position and claim a bronze medal. In the first round, she faced Luo Xiaojuan of China but was beaten 4–5 by the fall verdict. She came back strongly in the second round to beat Munkhtuya Tungalag of Mongolia 13–0, before losing in the third round to Yoshimi Kayama of Japan. She was able to clinch the bronze medal in the fourth round, beating Ayaulym Kassymova of Kazakhstan.[29]

2016

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Malik qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics by defeating China's Zhang Lan in the semifinal of the 58  kg category at the Olympic World Qualifying Tournament in May 2016.[30][31] At the Olympics, she won her Round of 32 bout against Sweden's Johanna Mattsson and Round of 16 bout against Moldova's Mariana Cherdivara. After losing to the eventual finalist Valeria Koblova of Russia in the quarterfinal, she qualified for the repechage round where she defeated Pürevdorjiin Orkhon of Mongolia in her first bout. She won the bronze medal after an 8–5 victory over the reigning Asian champion Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan, despite trailing 0–5 at one stage, in the repechage medal playoff, and became India's first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal.[32]

2017

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Sakshi Malik represented 'Colors Delhi Sultans' in the second edition of the Pro Wrestling League held in January 2017. She has also been featured in the women's day campaign called #EveryWomanStrong for her sponsor JSW Group.[33]

2022

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In 2022, she competed at the Yasar Dogu Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey. She won the bronze medal in her event at the 2022 Tunis Ranking Series event held in Tunis, Tunisia.[34] She won the gold medal at 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.[35]

2023

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She announced her voluntary retirement with grief. After putting the shoes on the table at a press conference, she said she would never participate in wrestling because the close aide of Brijbhushan Singh, MP and former WFI chief was polluting the federation.[36][37][38]

Personal life

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Malik is currently employed with Indian Railways in the commercial department of its Delhi division, in the Northern Railway zone and she is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program.[14][39] Following her bronze medal win at Rio, she was promoted from senior clerk to gazetted officer rank.[40]

Malik has completed a master's degree in physical education from Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak.[41][42] In September 2016, she was appointed as the university's wrestling director.[43]

In an interview shortly after the Rio Olympics, Malik said she was engaged to be married to fellow wrestler Satyawart Kadian later in 2016. They got married on 2 April 2017. Kadian is also an international level wrestler and has won medals in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.[44]

In May 2023, she and other people were arrested by Delhi police for taking part in protests.[45][46]

Accusation of sexual misconduct

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Main article: 2023 Indian wrestlers' protest

Malik, along with Vinesh Phogat and other wrestlers, accused Brij Bhushan Singh, a member of the Lok Sabha and the president of the Wrestling Federation of India of sexual and mental harassment.[47][48] They organised Indian wrestlers' protest in January 2023 and demanded the dissolution of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The government's assurance to form an oversight committee to investigate the claims caused the protests to be dropped in January 2023. In April 2023, the protesting wrestlers returned to their rallies, claiming that the government was doing nothing.

Awards and recognition

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In 2022, Malik appeared in a short documentary by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle about women in wrestling, featuring young wrestler Payal Sharma. The documentary features Malik training Sharma on her way to be a professional wrestler, as well as a traditionally held gender roles in India and, in particular, women in sports.[56]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sakshi Malik profile — Rio 2016". Rio2016.com. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  2. ^ "हिंदी खबर, Latest News in Hindi, हिंदी समाचार, ताजा खबर". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "हिंदी खबर, Latest News in Hindi, हिंदी समाचार, ताजा खबर". 11 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Sakshi Malik wins gold in 62 kg category at Commonwealth Wrestling Championship". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India (PTI). 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Commonwealth Championship: Female wrestling Seniors: 2013-12-05 Johannesburg (RSA): 63.0 kg". iat.uni-leipzig.de. United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  6. ^ "World Championship: Female wrestling Juniors: 2010-07-22 Budapest (HUN): 59.0 kg". iat.uni-leipzig.de. United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Asian Championship: Female wrestling Juniors: 2012-05-31 Almaty (KAZ): 63.0 kg". iat.uni-leipzig.de. United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Asian Championship: Female wrestling Juniors: 2009-07-09 Manila (PHI): 59.0 kg". iat.uni-leipzig.de. United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  9. ^ wrestling medals at the Olympics - From KD Jadhav to Sakshi Malik Archived 6 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine Olympics.com. Retrieved 6 August 2021
  10. ^ "Rio Olympics: Wrestler Sakshi Malik wins India's first medal - bronze in 58kg freestyle". The Times of India. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Rio 2016: Sakshi Malik, the female wrestler who got India's first medal". BBC News. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  12. ^ Pahuja, Nisha (17 April 2024). "THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2024 - Sakshi Malik". Time. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  13. ^ Kumar, Abhishek (17 April 2024). "Sakshi Malik becomes 1st Indian wrestler to feature in TIME's 100 Most Influential People list". News9Live. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b JSW Sports Excellence Program Archived 5 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine, additional.
  15. ^ "SAKSHI MALIK". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  16. ^ "Commonwealth Games 2014: Sakshi Malik Gets Silver in Women's 58kg Freestyle Wrestling". NDTVSports.com. 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  17. ^ "India's protesting wrestlers say will toss medals into Ganges". Al Jazeera. 30 May 2023. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
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  19. ^ Sharma, Nitin (18 August 2016). "Sakshi Malik has done her village Mokhra and whole India proud: coach Ishwar Singh Dahiya". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  20. ^ a b ""Beti Khilao" will become a reality : Sakshi's mom". Times of India. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  21. ^ Team, BS Web (18 August 2016). "Sakshi Malik: All you need to know about winner of India's first medal at Rio". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  22. ^ "I would like others to take inspiration from her, says Sakshi's father". The Hindu. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  23. ^ "साक्षी मलिक के कोच पर बढ़ा विवाद, मंत्री बोले- बता रही पांच कोच, किसे दें इनाम?". Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Ishwar, Mandeep my coach, Sakshi to Haryana govt". Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Sakshi Malik: From Rohtak to Rio". The Hindu. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  26. ^ Team, BS Web (18 August 2016). "Sakshi Malik: All you need to know about winner of India's first medal at Rio". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Glasgow 2014 - Sakshi Malik Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. 30 July 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  28. ^ "Sakshi Malik exits in quarterfinal of Freestyle women's 60kg on Day 3 of Wrestling World Championships at Tashkent - India at Sports". India at Sports. 10 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  29. ^ "Sakshi, Lalita win bronze in Asian Wrestling Championship - Times of India". The Times of India. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  30. ^ Biswal, Sattwik (7 May 2016). "Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik grab Rio 2016 berths". India Today. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  31. ^ 9517_deepalakshmi (18 August 2016). "From Rohtak to Rio — the story of Sakshi Malik". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ "Sakshi Malik wins bronze medal in women's wrestling 58kg category, opens India's account at Rio 2016 Olympics". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  33. ^ http://www.prowrestlingleague.com/player/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  34. ^ "2022 Zouhaier Sghaier Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  35. ^ "CWG 2022: Sakshi Malik Wins Gold in Women's Wrestling Freestyle 62Kg". News18. 5 August 2022. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  36. ^ Srivastava, Shantanu (21 December 2023). "Sakshi quits wrestling in anguish". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  37. ^ "Sakshi Malik: Indian Olympian quits sport over new wrestling chief". BBC Home. 22 December 2023. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  38. ^ "'I quit wrestling': Sakshi Malik says she won't compete under presidency of Brij Bhushan loyalist". The Times of India. 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  39. ^ "Sakshi Malik to be Promoted as Gazetted Railway Officer". NDTV.com. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  40. ^ a b "Sakshi Malik to receive Rs 60 lakh from Indian Railways for her Bronze medal win at Rio 2016 Olympics". The Indian Express. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  41. ^ "This is the result of over 10 years of hard work: Sakshi Malik after bronze". Hindustan Times. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  42. ^ "Girl with dream to wrestle". The Calcutta Telegraph. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  43. ^ a b "Sakshi Malik appointed wrestling director of Rohtak university". The Indian Express. 4 September 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  44. ^ "Wedding bells for Sakshi after Olympic high, to tie the knot with wrestler Satyawart". India Today. 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  45. ^ "'Dictatorship': Protesting Indian wrestlers charged with rioting". Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  46. ^ "Wrestlers Including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat Detained By Police Trying To March To New Parliament - In Pics". 28 May 2023. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  47. ^ Quint, The (24 April 2023). "Timeline: January to April, Wrestlers Return to Restart Protest 3 Months Later". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  48. ^ "Brij Bhushan was not detained but we were, says protesting wrestler Sakshi Malik". India Today. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  49. ^ "Ministry of Home Affairs: Padma Awards 2017" (PDF). mha.nic.in. Retrieved 25 January 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  50. ^ "P.V Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar to get Khel Ratna; Ajinkya Rahane named for Arjuna Award". The Indian Express. 22 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  51. ^ "PV Sindhu to receive Rs 2 crore from Delhi government". The Indian Express. 20 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  52. ^ "Sakshi Malik awarded Rs 2.5 crore by Haryana government". The Indian Express. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  53. ^ "MP to give Rs 25 lakh to Sakshi, offers training to Deepa". Business Standard. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  54. ^ "Sakshi Malik set to get richer by at least Rs 2.5 crore after bronze medal at Rio 2016 Olympics". The Indian Express. 17 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  55. ^ a b "Haryana opens arms and wallet for Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik". The Hindustan Times. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  56. ^ Deutsche Welle. "How to Wrestle with Gender Norms and Win". YouTube.
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