Olympic rookie Anshu Malik embracing the learning curve
The 19-year-old has added some tactical nuance to her attacking game as she heads into her maiden Olympics at Tokyo 2020
Anshu Malik did, and to a certain extent still does, live and die by the sword. Impatient and bursting with energy, the 19-year-old would want to relentlessly attack through the bout. It was an effective tactic to a certain extent, but that attack at all costs mindset can only get you so far. And that’s something that had been recognised and addressed early this year.
In April, when she travelled to Almaty, Kazakhstan for the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifier, her new all-round game came to the fore. And it helped the 57 kg freestyle grappler become the fifth women’s wrestler from India to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
“Like any young wrestler, she’d only think about attacking,” The Indian Express had quoted national coach Kuldeep Malik.
“We had to spend a lot of time on her defence to stop her from losing points on leg attacks. She’s a quick learner, but her greatest advantage is that she has a fearless approach to matches.”
Match-time jitters are rare for Malik, as she approaches each bout with confidence. It had helped her win the senior national title earlier this year and pick up twin wins over World Championship bronze medallist and compatriot Pooja Dhanda. She also managed wins over 2019 World Champion Linda Morais, World Championship bronze medallist Evelina Nikolova, and two-time European Champion Grace Bullen from Norway.
Shortly before the trip to Almaty though, she suffered a back injury during the Matteo Pellicone tournament in Rome in March. The stiff back problem was so severe she was forced to withdraw from the bronze medal bout, and went back home to Jind, Haryana to recover.
Back in training, she spent some time adding tactical nuance to her game. She tightened her defence and started to understand where she was erring and how to rectify them.
The injury in Rome left her in a state where she was hesitant in making moves lest another injury creep up and force her to bow out of another event. But that fear proved to be short-lived as she rose up the ladder in Almaty to bag the Olympic quota.
Since then she’s been studying more tactics and strategies with her coach. This time it’s more to do with the big-name opponents she may face in Tokyo.
When will Anshu Malik be seen in action?
The Indian wrestler will open her Tokyo 2020 campaign on Wednesday, August 4.