Sakshi Malik, Rio Olympics medallist, quits wrestling

Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling in front of the media in New Delhi on Thursday.

Sakshi Malik, now 31, last competed at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. The Indian wrestler won the gold medal in the women’s 62kg category but has not competed in international events since then.

Sakshi was born on September 3, 1992, in Rohtak district of Haryana. At just 17, she won the silver medal at the 2009 Asian Junior World Championships in 59kg freestyle, followed by a bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships. Sakshi went on to prove herself as one of India’s most successful female wrestlers of all time.

After winning bronze at the 2013 Commonwealth Championships, Sakshi Malik contested her first Commonwealth Games the following year in Glasgow and came away with a silver medal in the 58kg final. She would go on to bag her second Commonwealth Games medal in 2018 with a bronze in the 62kg category and finally claim the elusive gold medal in the same category four years later.

She emerged from the shadows of Geeta Phogat to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics and clinched the bronze medal on her Games’ debut. It was India’s first Olympic medal won by a female wrestler.

Sakshi Malik won six medals at the seniors Asian championships -  three silvers and three bronze.

Sakshi is married to fellow Indian wrestler Satyawart Kadian, a 2010 Youth Olympic Games bronze medallist and 2016 Commonwealth champion, and is based in Rohtak.