There are two key moments that sakshi Malik might be nice remembered for-the ancient Olympic bronze on the Rio video games in 2016, and her unflinching stand in the sexual harassment case towards former Wrestling Federation of india (WFI) chief Brij bhushan Sharan Singh.
both epic battles, one at the mat and the other off it, that have come to define her beneficial contribution to indian wrestling. In Witness, her biography co-written with sports activities journalist Jonathan Selvaraj, sakshi revisits the adventure that brought about the two pivotal moments of her life, and which have modified the route of wrestling in the usa.
it's smooth to forget that India's first individual Olympic medal came in wrestling, manner again in 1952, when k.D. Jadhav received bronze in Helsinki. After a long wait, Sushil Kumar won again-to-lower back medals at the beijing and london video games in 2008 and 2012. the sport blossomed amongst male wrestlers at diverse akharas throughout the u . s ., but until two decades ago when sakshi first stepped on the mat as a 12-yr-antique, no indian female had even qualified for the Olympics.
It explains why she had a cross at some other sports till she located her love for wrestling. there was an immediate connection and sufficient purpose to address each challenge thrown at her. What accompanied had been the nicely-documented travails of every indian athlete. fortunately for sakshi, the first and only woman grappler from india to win an Olympic medal, it culminated in glory and a trade in fortunes.
sakshi in no way tasted the same level of fulfillment once more inside the wrestling area. however the reasons to combat for the matters she believed in by no means left her, whether or not it changed into to marry the person she loved or shape the destiny of women's wrestling in India.
the many critical allegations towards WFI leader Brij bhushan intended someone had to take him on. From the highs of stepping on the podium, sakshi had no qualms in hitting the streets for justice. She become often made to recognise that it was possibly for a lost reason, but athletes are made of sterner stuff and her time as a professional wrestler taught her in no way to call it quits. on the other hand, nicely aware about the combat she had taken on and the outcomes of her moves, she determined to step faraway from aggressive wrestling in 2023.
sakshi pulls no punches in calling out the parents in electricity and their conniving ways. The writing is easy and will have achieved with some coloration, considering what Selvaraj has pronounced inside the beyond. but it's the little info that stand out in the narrative and make it a fascinating study. Like how sakshi became tickled into submission via police officers whilst their collective would possibly couldn't take her down; the chronic doubts over her body photo that she struggled with; the sheer delight of upgrading to commercial enterprise class after having taken lengthy train journeys within the general compartment.
And an honest yet startling confession that she by no means quite loved any shape of war of words, but did just that to earn the things that she favored and deserved.
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