CWG 2022: Gold for Sakshi Malik, podium finish for Anshu Malik and Divya Kakran
India’s 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik won a gold medal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 on Friday. Alongside her, Anshu Malik and Divya Kakran earned podium finishes in women's freestyle wrestling.
Sakshi bounced back to win the gold medal in the women’s 62 kg after trailing 0-4 in the first round of an exciting contest against Ana Godinez Gonzalez of Canada. She made a strong comeback to pin her opponent and walk away with the gold medal.
The Indian star had a good start to her campaign. She won her quarterfinals match against England’s Kelsey Barnes 10-0 in less than 60 seconds. She continued to exhibit her form in the semifinals, winning that match also via technical superiority against Cameroon's Berthe Emilienne Etane Ngolle.
"This time I just wanted to win gold. I gave my best and I am very happy. I got emotional when the national anthem was played after my win,” says Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik after winning a gold medal at #CommonwealthGames https://t.co/5INDrl8I4z
Anshu Malik, on the other hand, failed to give her best against Nigeria’s experienced wrestler Odunayo Folasade Adekuoroye to settle for silver in the 57 kg category.
Anshu started her campaign on a positive note. She defeated Irene Symeonidis of Australia 10-0 in less than 60 seconds in her first match. She didn’t sweat in the semis and scored a 10-0 win over Sri Lanka’s Nathmi Poruthotage.
Another medal for India came from Divya Kakran. She won her bronze medal match in the women’s 68kg category in less than 30 seconds. She pinned Tiger Lily Cocker Lemalie from Tonga.
GOLD! 🥇
A comeback for the ages as Sakshi Malik wins the Gold Medal in Wrestling - Women's Freestyle - 62Kg! 🇮🇳
#CWG2022 #B2022 https://t.co/SgrD5vr6DO
Divya lost the first round rather tamely to Nigerian athlete Blessing Oborududu 0-11, but bounced back in the repechage, defeating Cameroon’s Blandine Nyeh Ngiri by fall.
Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia headline great day for Indian wrestlers in CWG 2022
It wasn't just the women who shone on Friday for Indian in the wrestling circle. Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia won golds in their respective category also.
India's Mohit Grewal also contributed to India's growing medals tally, winning the bronze in the men's 125kg category. Overall, India won six medals in wrestling on Friday.
The golds by Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Deepak Punia were the highlights of the day. However, the overall performance from the Indian grapplers was also satisfactory.