The match between 18year old Sonam and senior pro Sakshi Malik was nothing less than plot for hit Bollywood masala movie. A debutant girl from humble background with big dreams in her eyes stunned the followers of Indian wrestling by defeating Rio Olympic medallist Sakshi in a thriller.
If this plot wasn’t enough to excite the wrestling fan – just check the last 5 seconds of the bout. The thriller became super hit when the youngster pepped by her father made a move of her life to score a 4 pointer and turned defeat to victory.
In a report published in English daily Sonam has revealed that her father’s pep talk during the break was the reason she could score the last second victory over Sakshi.
“Tanney apna sab kuch daavn par laga dey aaj, kyunki ab kuch nahi baccha hai aur ho sakta hai ki zindagi badal jaye” (You must gamble everything today because there is nothing to lose; it is possible this proves a life changer). This was what Rajender Malik told his daughter Sonam Malik during the 30-second break during Saturday’s trials of the Indian women’s wrestling team. The words did the magic for two-time world cadet champion, who stunned 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik and qualified for the Asian Championships & Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifiers.
“Those words from my father meant everything to me. I didn’t care for anything and went on attacking Sakshi without a break as I had confidence in my father’s words,” Sonam, told the English daily.
The teenager was making her senior debut at the trials organized by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). WrestlingTV has learnt that she was actually not even part of the girls shortlisted for the trials initially. But WFI decided to gave her a chance because of her stupendous performance at the cadet world championships in 2019 where she won her second gold.
She went neck-and-neck with Sakshi and kept attacking despite trailing in the first period of the 62kg semi-final bout. In the second period, Sonam produced a sensational four-point throw with three seconds left on the clock. It tied the match at 10-10, Sonam winning by virtue of being the last to score points.
Sonam’s Show at the Trials
Semi-Finals – Sonam beat Sakshi Malik 10-10
Finals – Sonam beat Radhika 4-1
The way forward for Sonam
Sonam will now play her first senior International event as she will represent India at the 2020’s first ranking series event in Rome (January 15-18). The Asian Championships in New Delhi ( Feb 18-23) will be her big test in front of the home crowd and she will be tested by the top Chinese, Japanese and Mongolian girls. The big moment for Sonam will be in the month of March when she will travel to Xian, China for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers – this is the place she can book Olympic Quota for herself and the country and realize her childhood dream.
Sonam’s father Rajender works as a store helper in a sugar mill in Gohana. He termed her win remarkable. Everyone had lost hope of Sonam continuing to wrestle in 2017 after pain in her right shoulder led to serious impact in the arm. The injury happened soon after she won gold at the World Cadet Wrestling Championships in Athens. But the girl never gave up and here she is just one step away from representing India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
