Sakshi Malik, who secured the bronze medal in wrestling during the 2016 Rio Olympics, will become one of the few athletes to have won the Khel Ratna, Padmashri and the Arjuna Award.
Sakshi Malik created history in the 2016 Rio Olympics when she secured the bronze medal in wrestling, making her the first female wrestler to win a medal in the Olympics. Following her magnificent performance, she was conferred the Padma Shri in 2017 which is the fourth highest civilian award in India. In 2018, she won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award which is the highest sporting honour in the country. Now, in 2020, Sakshi Malik is being conferred with the Arjuna Award and this will make her one of the select few to have won three prestigious awards. In addition to her bronze in Rio, Malik had also won settled for the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha.
Speaking about the achievement, Sakshi Malik said, “It is a matter of pride for me that I will be getting the Arjuna Award, every athlete dreams of getting this accolade, I have received the Khel Ratna, Padma Shri but I had not gotten the Arjuna Award, only this accolade was missing from my achievements.”
There are 29 athletes who have been recommended for the Arjuna Award this year and the list includes the names of Ishant Sharma (cricket), Atanu Das (archery), Deepika Kumari (hockey), and Deepak Hooda (kabaddi).
Promises not fulfilled
Sakshi Malik may have become the first female wrestler to have won a medal in the Olympics but she admits that all the things which were promised to her after securing the bronze medal have not been fulfilled five years later.
“It has been four years that I won the Olympic medal for my country, but I am not happy as all the things which were promised have not been fulfilled. The plot which was to be given to me has not been handed to me yet, there was a promise of a job in Haryana but this has not been fulfilled as well. Olympic bronze is a big medal, but I am just getting the post of Wrestling Director General at Rohtak University and I think it does not fit my achievements, so I would want the post of at least Sports Director,” Malik said.
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 "Sakshi Malik Wrestling")
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