Sakshi Malik is an Indian freestyle wrestler who won the bronze in 58-kilogram freestyle wrestling at the Rio Olympics 2016. She became the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics and is the fourth female Olympic medallist from the country.

Early Life of Sakshi Malik
Sakshi Malik was born on 3rd September in the year 1992. She is hailing from Haryana of Northern part of India and is trained by her coach and mentor Ishwar Dahiya. She began training in wrestling at the age of 12. She has completed a master`s degree in physical education from Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak.

Career of Sakshi Malik
Sakshi Malik began her Commonwealth campaign in Glasgow, Scotland with her opening match in the quarter-finals against Edwige Ngono Eyia of Cameroon, beating her 4-0 comfortably. In the semi-finals, Sakshi Malik faced off against Braxton Rei Stone of Canada who put up a tough fight but ultimately the Indian won 3-1 to assure herself of a Commonwealth medal. Her opponent in the final was Aminat Adeniyi of Nigeria who defeated her 4-0 in a closely contested match, awarding Sakshi Malik the silver medal. Then Sakshi participated in the World Wrestling Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on September 10, 2014. She faced Anta Sambou of Senegal in the Round of 16 and won 4-1 over her opponent. She ultimately lost by 1-3 to Petra Maarit Olli of Finland.

Sakshi then also competed in Senior Asian Wrestling Championships, which was held in Doha, Qatar, during the month of May, 2015. On May 9, 2015, in a total of five rounds in the 60 kilogram category and battled through two rounds to finish in third position and claim a bronze medal. In the first round, Sakshi faced Luo Xiaojuan of China but was beaten 4-5 by Fall Verdict. She came back strongly in the second round to beat Munkhtuya Tungalag of Mongolia 13-0. The third round was lost by Sakshi to Yoshimi Kayama of Japan. She was able to clinch the bronze medal in the fourth round, beating Ayaulym Kassymova of Kazakhstan. Sakshi was qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics by defeating China`s Zhang Lan in the semi-final of the 58 kilogram category at the Olympic World qualifying tournament in May 2016. At the Olympics, Sakshi won her Round of 32 bouts against Sweden`s Johanna Mattsson and Round of 16 bouts against Moldova`s Mariana Cherdivara. After losing to eventual finalist Valeria Koblova of Russia in the quarterfinal, Sakshi Malik qualified for the Repechage round where she defeated Purevdorjiin Orkhon of Mongolia in her first bout. Sakshi Malik won the bronze medal after 8-5 victory over the reigning Asian champion Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan. After that, Sakshi became India`s first female wrestler and the fourth female athlete ever to win an Olympic medal.

Sakshi Malik represented `Colors Delhi Sultans` in the second edition of the Pro Wrestling League held in January 2017. She has also won Bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games held at Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

Awards of Sakshi Malik
Sakshi Malik has received the Padma Shri in 2017 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2016.

Personal Life of Sakshi Malik
Sakshi Malik tied the knot with Indian wrestler Satyawart Kadian on April 2, 2017 in Rohtak. She is now employed with Indian Railways in the commercial department of its Delhi division, in the Northern Railway zone and is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program. In September 2016, she was appointed as the university`s wrestling director.