Sonam Malik very close to an Olympic medal, says father Rajinder 

It was a moment to savour for the Malik family at the Madina village in Haryana on Saturday afternoon as Sonam became the youngest Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics five days shy of her 19th birthday.

The night before the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sonam could barely sleep. But she fought through the pain and injury to overturn a 0-6 deficit against World Championships bronze medallist Ayaulym Kassymova of Kazakhstan to win 9-6 and bag a quota place for Tokyo.

Her father, Rajinder who once wrestled in local dangals (tournaments), observed the progress of her daughter and believes she will go to the distance at Tokyo 2020.

"The Olympic medal is a big thing to achieve. Sakshi (Malik) has done a lot for India. If Sonam had beaten Olympic medallist Sakshi (during the national trials) then she is very close to an Olympic medal," Rajinder Malik told the Olympic Channel.

"It's like when you beat an Olympic medallist, you start working harder. Sonam will give her 100 percent, but the medal is in God's hand."

Her entry into Tokyo 2020 also means she has gone farther than any of her family in the sport and surpassed all their expectations.Her father and brothers -- also wrestlers-- were a constant source of motivation for the baby-faced assassin, who started wrestling at the age of 11.

"At our home, there is a wrestling atmosphere, me and her brothers had been part of the sport. But they didn't go as far. Her brother was also good at the sport but couldn't get the desired result," her father said with joy.

It was then that Rajinder Malik brought Sonam to close friend Ajmer Malik's Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Academy in their village.

"Ajmer pehlwaan and I were childhood friends. We studied together till 10th grade, he then joined the Army and I worked in the mill. I used to take the children to his academy everyday. That's where Sonam started to develop interest in wrestling."

And she seemed to have a natural aptitude for it. Within five years of starting into the sport, she started challenging and defeating grapplers a lot senior to her in local tournaments.

"When Sonam was 17 years old there was open dangal in Delhi where she fought with seniors," Malik recalls.

"There were a lot of talented wrestlers in that competition some of them represented India at the Commonwealth Games. Even then, she wanted to take on the seniors and at least be competitive against them."

Even though her early success came as a surprise for the family members, coach Ajmer Malik always knew she was the real deal.

"When Sonam first came to me, she had everything I wanted in a student," Ajmer Malik said.

"Discipline, respect for the coach, will to work hard. She never backed down in training and stayed dedicated to it and completed every task assigned to her. She was fearless against any and every opponent. We knew that it was a matter of time before she shone on the world stage. Sonam is actually ahead of schedule -- we had thought that she will compete and do well at the 2024 Olympics. But making the cut for Tokyo was a pleasant surprise

"Since childhood, we thought Sonam is an Olympic material. We have been training her with the aim of winning an Olympic gold. This time, we were aware that she may have to face Sakshi (Malik) in the national trials. But it never deterred her."

Once Sonam returns from Kazakhstan, Ajmer says they will work on the chinks in her armour.

"It's just that in these few months we will work on her weaknesses. We are working on her, she was injured (during the match against Kassymova) but knew that she will cover it up," he said.

Ajmer, a retired Army subedar, is also elated about the fact that his academy is better-known for Sonam's achievements and all his trainees now wish to replicate her performance. She has crossed an important rite of passage in her fledgling career, but the Olympic test remains.