One of the best wrestlers in the country, Sakshi Malik celebrates her 30th birthday on September 03, 2022 (Saturday). The Haryana-born athlete has been one of the pioneering figures for women’s wrestling in India as she has won multiple medals at global events, establishing herself among the top wrestlers in the world. Sakshi Malik Wins Gold Medal in Women’s 62kg Freestyle Wrestling Event at Commonwealth Games 2022.

Born in Mokhra village in Haryana, Sakshi Malik was inspired to take up the sport by watching her grandfather, Badlu Ram, who was also a wrestler and began her training at the age of 12. Malik won a number of tournaments at the junior level and was able to transfer her success to the senior level as well, winning medals in Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

So as the Indian wrestler turns 30 years old, we take a look at some lesser-known facts about he

  • Sakshi Malik was inspired to take up wrestling after watching her grandfather Badlu Ram

  • She started training in wrestling at the age of 12

  • Sakshi Malik won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics

  • She became the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics

  • Her husband, Satyawat Kadian is also a wrestler and has won medals in Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games

  • Sakshi Malik won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

  • She also has multiple medals in the Asian Championships

The Wrestling icon had a difficult time in recent years as injuries and lack of form had seen her miss out on a chance to compete at Tokyo Olympics. However, she made a spectacular comeback at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, winning her maiden gold at the event.

Sakshi Malik was also set to compete in the trials held by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for the World Wrestling Championships but did not participate due to an injury.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2022 07:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).