Sakshi Malik: India’s First Female Olympic Wrestling Medallist

Sakshi Malik is an Indian international wrestler who holds the record of being the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics.

Apart from winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sakshi also won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and a bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships.

A freestyle wrestler, Sakshi is currently employed with the Indian Railways with their Delhi division. She is also part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program. Sakshi has been a recipient of several prestigious awards such as Padma Shri and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna – the highest sporting honor in the country.

Physical Stats

Sakshi Malik Family

Sakshi was born on 3 September 1992 in Mokhra, a village in Rohtak district of Haryana. The wrestler’s father Subir Malik works as a conductor with Delhi Transport Corporation and her mother Sudesh Malik works as a supervisor in the Anganwadi department. Sakshi also has an elder brother, Sachin.

Relationships

Sakshi is married to wrestler Satyawart Kadian who is two years younger than her. Recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award, Satyawart won a silver medal for India at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Sakshi happened to meet Satyawart during wrestling competitions and later they fell in love with each other. Eventually, Sakshi told her parents about Satyawart, they found him to be a very nice person and fixed their marriage.

According to Sakshi’s father, her daughter’s marriage was a love-cum-arranged one. The wrestler couple got married in May 2017 at Rohtak.

Sakshi Malik Education

Sakshi did her schooling at Vaish School in Rohtak. Later, she completed her Master’s degree in physical education from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak.

Controversies

In January 2023, 30 Indian wrestlers including Sakshi, Vinesh Phoghat, Anshu Malik, and Bajrang Punia raised allegations of sexual exploitation against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the President of the Wrestling Federation of India and its coaches.

As per the allegations raised by wrestlers, for several years they have been going through sexual harassment from Brij Bhushan. They also staged a protest in Jantar Mantar, Delhi demanding action against him and disbanding the organization.

Following the protests, the government formed an oversight committee headed by May Kom. In turn, the committee questioned Brij Bhushan and submitted the report to the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. However, the wrestlers were not satisfied with the progress of the investigation.

In April, the protestors resumed their protests demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan. On 28th May, a few hours after the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Delhi police registered a case against Sakshi and other sports persons.

As per sources, the wrestlers were detained at Jantar Mantar on charges of protesting and obstructing public servants from performing their duty.

Later, while commenting on the incident, Sakshi said that it didn’t even take 7 hours to register a case against them whereas it took seven days to book Brij Bhushan.

Sakshi Malik Profession

From an early age, Sakshi was inspired by her wrestler grandfather Badlu Ram. Later, at the age of 12, she started practicing the sport under Ishwar Dahiya. However, in the initial days, Sakshi had to face stiff resistance from the villagers as the sport was meant for males.

Five years later, Sakshi made her mark by winning a silver medal at the 2009 Asian Junior World Championships in the 59kg freestyle category. The following year, she won a bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships.

In the Commonwealth Championships, her achievements include winning a bronze in 2013, a silver in 2014, and a bronze in 2018. At the Asian championships, Sakshi won 5 medals. In 2015, the wrestler won a bronze medal, a silver medal in 2017, and bronze medals in both the 2018 Biashek and 2019 Xi’an championships.

The biggest achievement in Sakshi’s career came at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she went on to win the bronze medal in the 58 kg weight category.

Thus, she became the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics. Following her win, Sakshi was rewarded by the Indian government with an Rs.50 lakhs cash prize and was also promoted to a gazetted officer in Indian railways.

Sakshi Malik Net worth

As per reports, Sakshi’s net worth stands at $5 million. Apart from the income she earns from wrestling, Sakshi also gets money by endorsing leading brands such as Asics.

Lesser Known Facts About Sakshi Malik

• During her school days, Sakshi’s parents used to give her milk to take to school so that she gains strength. The wrestler recollects those days when she was bullied at school by other children saying that she gets milk to school also.
• Sakshi aspired to become a sportsperson so that she can travel in an airplane. The first time she boarded a flight was in 2008, to take part in a tournament in Russia. The previous night, Sakshi could hardly sleep as she was quite nervous.

• Breakfast is the most important meal for Sakshi and it mainly comprises fruits. She avoids junk food, fried foods, and sweets, especially during times of competition.

• Sakshi says that post winning the medal at the Commonwealth Games, she returned home, but could hardly sleep. Every time she fell asleep, her brother or mother would wake her up as media people were waiting for interviews. However, Sakshi says that she enjoyed it as not everyone gets this opportunity.    

• Sakhshi’s elder brother Sachin was named after cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar.

• A typical day in Sakshi’s life includes intensive training with 500 sit-ups.

• When asked what makes Haryana a powerhouse in wrestling, Sakshi jokingly remarked that it’s the milk products. According to her, their fathers and grandfathers have been wrestlers for ages and the children imbibe them.

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