Sakshi loses women’s 58kg quarter-final bout in Rio

Malik beat Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan in the bronze medal match 8-5.

Tynybekova grabbed Sakshi’s leg and quickly earned two points before adding one more for the Indian’s passivity. The Kyrgyzstani soon got four more points for two take-downs as the first period ended with Malik trailing 0-5.

The 23-year-old Sakshi became the fourth woman sportsperson from a India to win a medal at the Olympics. Malik had reached the repechage rounds of the women’s freestyle 58kg event as Russia’s Valeria Koblova – the opponent she lost to in the quarterfinals – progressed to the final. Sakshi entered the medal-round after winning her Repechage round 2 comfortably against Mongolia’s Orkhon Purevdorj.

Thereafter, it was no looking back for the Indian girl and she took the opponent down to level the scores 5-5. There were scenes of jubilation at Sakshi’s house in Haryana after her historic win.

“Vinesh is my friend so when she suffered the injury my mind was a bit diverted”, said Sakshi.

ANI posted a video in which you can see Malik’s mother erupting with joy, just as her daughter wins the first medal for India at Rio.

Sakshi, who had also finished on the podium at the 2015 Asian Championships, created history by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to clinch an Olympic medal. And the victor of that bout (Mongolian girl) then took on Sakshi in repechage round 2 for a place in the bronze medal play-off. And then, Sakshi managed her first takedown on Aisuluu to get 2 points.

In her first repechage bout, Sakshi will take on the victor of the clash between Tunisia’s Amri Marwa and Turkey’s Elif Jale Yesilirmak. In the pre-quarters, she registered a narrow win against Mariana Cherdivara Esanu of Republic of Moldov before losing her quarter-final bout.

She took up the sport when she was just nine years old.