Sakshi Malik is going for the past two years going through a rough patch of her career. The wrestler on many occasions has lost a fight despite taking an early lead. And her defeat to 18-year-old Sonam Malik twice in a span of one month bears testament to it. But now, the Olympic medallist might have found the key to the Sonam lock from none other than India’s legend and 2012 London Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt.
Dutt and Sakshi had a Q&A session on Dainik Bhaskar social media. During the conversation, Dutt asked her junior wrestler if Sakshi has any come up with any strategy to deal with Sonam problem. She says,”I have weak neck muscles and that is where I get puzzled during the match. I am working on strengthing it. Also, I don’t know, when I am in lead, I tend to get defensive and in the process lose crucial points”.
Sakshi and Sonam are top contenders for the Olympic berth in 62kg weight class. The pair first met in January for the national trials for Rome Ranking Series and Asian Championship. In the finals, Sakshi had put up a strong performance taking a big lead of six points with less than 40 seconds to go. But from there Sonam turned the tables in her favour and won on criteria after pulling a four-point throw in the dying seconds. The story was no different at the national trials for the Olympic Qualifiers in February.
Yogeshwar advises Sakshi to look for counter-attacking opportunities instead of getting defensive as it is where she can surprise her opponents. “As a wrestler, you should always wear your strength up your sleeves. The strategy should be the one which can be executed for the entire six minutes. In between look for openings and make sure to capitalise whenever possible. Therefore, If a wrestler attacks, instead of getting defensive, try to look for counter-attacks”.
The Haryana wrestler has claimed that since her loss she has had doubts over her wrestling skills. Negative thoughts continuously affect her. To this, Dutt who himself has had his share of failures in a long career says “you just need to believe and work on your weaknesses”. He added,”When we lose a match, we have to introspect. Before the 2004 Olympics, I had lost repeatedly to an opponent due to a weaker grip. Post that, I started working on my grip holds. The same year, at the Olympic Qualifiers, I had a rematch against the same wrestler. In the second half, I used the new grip holds I learnt and executed a four-pointer move and defeated him. So, I believe where there is a will, there will always be a way”.
The crucial advice from Dutt and the current lockdown might give Sakshi’s hopes new wings. She is currently training in Rohtak at Satyawan Akhara with her husband.
