Sakshi Malik won bronze medal in women’s wrestling 58kg category, opens India’s account at Rio

A diminutive 23-year-old girl from Mokhra village near Rohtak in Haryana touched the heights of a podium finish in Rio, as Sakshi Malik claimed the bronze medal in the women's freestyle wrestling 58kg category with a spirited comeback victory over Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan. She overturned a 0-5 deficit in a hectic second round to script an 8-5 victory in the medal bout.

  It was the fifth bronze in wrestling for India in its long Olympic history stretching back to 1952 Helsinki Games when Kashaba Jadhav became its first individual medallist. She is also the fourth female Olympic medallist from India, joining the ranks of weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London) and shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London).

  Sakshi also became the first female wrestler from India to climb the podium in the quadrennial sports spectacle – the other four medals being won by men with two of those claimed by Sushil Kumar in 2008 Beijing and 2012 London.

  "Meri 12 saal ki tapasya rang layi (It's the fruit of my persistent hard work in the last 12 years). Geeta didi, my senior had qualified for the first time in London. I never thought I would become the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal in wrestling," Sakshi said with tears of joy.