Geeta Phogat’s announcement of comeback to mat has intensified the race for the Tokyo Olympics spot. India is yet to confirm its place in the 62kg weight category. Before the forced break, 18-year-old Sonam Malik was India’s top choice for the middle-weight class. But due to covid-19, the spot is once again up for grabs. Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has announced that it will be holding fresh trials next year for the Olympic Qualifiers. Wrestlers vying for the Olympic spot in 62kg are Cadets world champion Sonam, Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik and 2018 Asian Championship gold medallist Navjot Kaur. With four champions in the race for the top spot, 62kg in women’s wrestling is what 74kg is in men’s freestyle.
Here is a short profile on all the four wrestlers:
Sonam Malik:
Although she has not done much at the senior level, the teenager is a proven name at the cadet level. She is the two-time cadet world championship gold medallist in 2017 and 2019. Last year, she also won the cadet Asian championship silver medal. However, her biggest win of the career has been at the domestic level where she thumped Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik twice at national trials. Talking about Geeta’s comeback, she said that the competition has increased but she is ready for it. “She is very senior to me so certainly she carries a lot of experience. Her comeback to wrestling in 62kg has intensified the race for the top spot in the Indian team”.
Navjot Kaur:
2019 was not a good year for the 30-year-old wrestler who has been trying to make a return to the Indian team in the Olympic weight category. She is India’s first women wrestler to win gold at the Asian Championships. She has won three medals at the continental championship. Besides this, she has won a bronze medal at the Wrestling World Cup in 2013 and Commonwealth Games in 2014. She says that she has trained Geeta on many occasions when she was part of the national camp. As for Sakshi, Navjot believes she knows her weaknesses and can exploit it on the mat. “We both know each other’s weaknesses and strong points as we have been training partners for a long time. So, at the end it would all come down to who performs on the judgement day
Sakshi Malik:
Sakshi has already etched her name in golden words in the Indian wrestling history after winning a medal at the Olympics. However, for quite sometime the wrestler has been struggling. Sakshi’s downfall started when she got thumped by young Sonam at the selection trials in January. While many believed it was a fluke, she believes it was all due to pressure. She, however, clinched a crucial silver medal at the Asian Championships in February which was a big boost to her confidence. Now, with one year to go, Sakshi believes she can prepare well mentally to overcome the shortcomings during the match. She has already been awarded by Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Padma Shri and will now be honoured with the Arjuna award this year.
Geeta Phogat:
She won India’s first ever gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She is also the first Indian female wrestler to have qualified for the Olympic Summer Games. Geeta is synonymous to the Bollywood movie Dangal. After being out of action for over an year, she has resumed training and is eyeing for Tokyo Olympics to fulfill her father’s dream of an Olympic medal.