“The dream that I had for 12 years is also over” - Anshu Malik looks back on heartbreaking Paris Olympics 2024 loss
Indian wrestler Anshu Malik looked back at her debut in the Paris Olympics 2024, where her dreams of bringing home an Olympic medal ended in a heartbreaking loss in the Round of 16. Anshu lost in the pre-quarterfinal bout of the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling event against Helen Louise Maroulis of the USA by a margin of 2-7.
Sharing a heartfelt note on her Instagram handle, Malik shared a promise that she had made to her father of winning a medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, and her disappointment at failing to make that dream come true.
“The Olympics are now over and with it the dream that I had for 12 years is also over. In 2012, When I started wrestling, I told my father that I would win a medal in the 2024 Olympics,” Anshu wrote in the caption.
“Every day I work just for that day, every night I dream just to get it. But it didn’t turn out the way I thought it would,” she added.
Anshu Malik was one of those in the Indian wrestling contingent who was expected to challenge for a podium finish at the quadrennial tournament. The 23-year-old, despite appearing at the Olympic Games for the first time in her short career, already boasted of silver medals in both World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
However, she was completely dominated in her clash against the USA’s Helen Louise Maroulis. The 32-year-old American freestyle wrestler, a three-time world champion, completely overpowered her younger opponent and took a 6-0 lead that Anshu was not able to cut down with any real impact. She eventually lost the match 7-2 and saw her hopes of winning an Olympic medal vanish in the French capital.
“The last 2 years was very difficult for me” - Anshu Malik reveals her tough road to Paris Olympics 2024
Along with the heartbreak of losing at the biggest athletic stage of all, Anshu Malik also shared the grueling work that went into her qualifying for the Paris Olympics 2024 in the first place.
In the Instagram post, Anshu wrote:
“This journey was not easy at all, there were a lot of injuries, many defeats and many victories too. Had emotional and mental breakdowns many times. And the last 2 years was very difficult for me. Yes, I did not win a medal.”
“But I am happy that despite all these, I represented my country in the Olympics,” she added.
Anshu Malik, along with fellow wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Reetika Hooda, clinched a spot in the Paris Olympics 2024 through her performances at the Asian Olympic Games qualifier in April.
The young wrestler from Haryana defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy by a margin of 12-1 and then went on to win against the Asian Games bronze medalist Laylokhon Sobirova of Uzbekistan by an 11-0 scoreline.
Despite her heartbreaking elimination from the Paris Olympics 2024, Malik will look to justify her billing as one of India’s brightest wrestling prodigies with improved performances at the upcoming 2026 Asian Games and the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.