Mumbai, Rio Games bronze medalist wrestler Sakshi Malik feels that winning an Olympic medal not only transforms the life of an athlete but also impacts the society, creating numerous opportunities for children.
Sakshi became the first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal, winning a bronze at the Rio Games in 2016.
"An Olympic dream is not just the dream of an athlete; it is the dream of an entire family. Winning an Olympic medal transforms not only the life of the athlete but also the life of his family, society and village," Sakshi said in a press conference. event in Mumbai organized by JSW Sports on Friday.
The 31-year-old claimed that her hometown Rohtak has seen several changes in terms of sports infrastructure since she won medals eight years ago.
"After my medal, major changes took place. The Chhotu Ram stadium in Rohtak, where I trained, went from having a tin roof to an American football hall. A stadium was even built in my village named after me.
"An Olympic medal creates numerous opportunities, especially for children, allowing them to train in better facilities. The craze for wrestling has increased in Haryana. Wherever you go, there is a stadium every ten minutes, and you will find girls training in every one of them "The old mentality that girls couldn't fight has changed dramatically."
As female wrestlers do well on the world stage, more and more girls are taking up the sport with the goal of achieving Olympic glory.
"Misconceptions that girls are impure and should not participate in wrestling have been debunked. Now, girls are proving that they too can excel in wrestling."
Of the six Indian wrestlers who have qualified for this month's Paris Olympics, five are female wrestlers: Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Antim Panghal (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and Reetika Hooda (76 kg). .
“There was a time when people believed that girls couldn't fight, but today this has changed. For the first time, five girls will go to the wrestling Olympics, while only one boy will go. The girls, who were once repressed, are now bravely stepping forward and excelling in wrestling.
“After winning a medal, no one enters wrestling simply thinking about getting a job or a benefit. Now they set out with the goal of winning an Olympic medal. “This change in mindset is incredibly inspiring.”
Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who narrowly missed out on a medal at the Rio Games, reiterated Sakshi's views.
"After the 2016 Rio Olympics, a lot of things changed in Tripura. People had the mentality that they couldn't go to gymnastics. And in Tripura, there were a lot of changes.
"For example, the infrastructure, the vault you see, needs a lot of foam pits, which are very important. They weren't there before."
Karmakar's hometown, like Sakshi's, witnessed a rise in gymnastics and several training centers came up.
"After the 2016 Olympics, they built a foam pit there and a lot of teams came. And the interest level of the children increased a lot. Before there were very few centers, but now everywhere, whether government or private, the centers have increased a lot.
"And everyone's mentality is that we also want to go to the Olympic Games, something that didn't exist before. So, in my opinion, after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the mentality of a lot of people changed, which was very important "he added.
Sakshi became the first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal, winning a bronze at the Rio Games in 2016.
"An Olympic dream is not just the dream of an athlete; it is the dream of an entire family. Winning an Olympic medal transforms not only the life of the athlete but also the life of his family, society and village," Sakshi said in a press conference. event in Mumbai organized by JSW Sports on Friday.
The 31-year-old claimed that her hometown Rohtak has seen several changes in terms of sports infrastructure since she won medals eight years ago.
"After my medal, major changes took place. The Chhotu Ram stadium in Rohtak, where I trained, went from having a tin roof to an American football hall. A stadium was even built in my village named after me.
"An Olympic medal creates numerous opportunities, especially for children, allowing them to train in better facilities. The craze for wrestling has increased in Haryana. Wherever you go, there is a stadium every ten minutes, and you will find girls training in every one of them "The old mentality that girls couldn't fight has changed dramatically."
As female wrestlers do well on the world stage, more and more girls are taking up the sport with the goal of achieving Olympic glory.
"Misconceptions that girls are impure and should not participate in wrestling have been debunked. Now, girls are proving that they too can excel in wrestling."
Of the six Indian wrestlers who have qualified for this month's Paris Olympics, five are female wrestlers: Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Antim Panghal (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and Reetika Hooda (76 kg). .
“There was a time when people believed that girls couldn't fight, but today this has changed. For the first time, five girls will go to the wrestling Olympics, while only one boy will go. The girls, who were once repressed, are now bravely stepping forward and excelling in wrestling.
“After winning a medal, no one enters wrestling simply thinking about getting a job or a benefit. Now they set out with the goal of winning an Olympic medal. “This change in mindset is incredibly inspiring.”
Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who narrowly missed out on a medal at the Rio Games, reiterated Sakshi's views.
"After the 2016 Rio Olympics, a lot of things changed in Tripura. People had the mentality that they couldn't go to gymnastics. And in Tripura, there were a lot of changes.
"For example, the infrastructure, the vault you see, needs a lot of foam pits, which are very important. They weren't there before."
Karmakar's hometown, like Sakshi's, witnessed a rise in gymnastics and several training centers came up.
"After the 2016 Olympics, they built a foam pit there and a lot of teams came. And the interest level of the children increased a lot. Before there were very few centers, but now everywhere, whether government or private, the centers have increased a lot.
"And everyone's mentality is that we also want to go to the Olympic Games, something that didn't exist before. So, in my opinion, after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the mentality of a lot of people changed, which was very important "he added.
