Sonam Malik becomes India's youngest female wrestler to qualify for Tokyo Olympics

Eighteen-year-old Sonam Malik has become India’s youngest woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo. She bagged a silver medal in the women’s 62-kg wrestling category at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers that was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from April 9-11, 2021.

Sonam wins Olympic quota!#SonamMalik makes a remarkable comeback from 0-6 down to beat home favourite Ayaulym Kassymova of Kazakhstan 9-6 to win a #Tokyo2020 in women’s 62 kg wrestling at the Asian Olympic Qualifier. She becomes the 3rd Indian female & 6th Wrestler to win quota pic.twitter.com/FAKkHaDNXV

— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) April 10, 2021

Sonam defeated China’s Jia Long and Chinese Taipei’s Hsin Ping Pal in Group B matches to reach the semifinals. She beat down the World Championships bronze medalist Ayaulym Kassymova of Kazakhstan. She did not fight for the finals as she got injured and settled for the silver medal at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers.

Sonam had consistently defeated the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik four times at the recent trials for the women’s 62 kg category held in Lucknow. This shut the door on Sakshi Malik.

In the same feat, Anshu Malik, 19, also qualified for the Olympic Games Tokyo by bagging silver medals at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Anshu Malik beat Korean wrestler Jieun Um, then Kazakhstan wrestler Emma Tissina, and in the semifinals, she defeated Uzbekistan’s Shokhida Akhmedova. Though she lost the gold to Mongolia's Khongorzul Boldsaikha, she bagged a silver medal and secured her place in the women’s 57-kg wrestling category for the Olympic Games.

Many congratulations to 19 year-old #AnshuMalik who has won a #Tokyo2020 quota in women’s 57 kg after a dominant display to reach the final of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers. She will play for gold later today.#RoadToTokyo pic.twitter.com/uIzK6vzNSH

— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) April 10, 2021

Vinesh Phogat, who had qualified for the 2019 World Championship in the women’s 53kg category, praised the duo in a tweet.

Wohooooo 💃🏻 What a spirit Sonam and Anshu 👏👏 Feeling ecstatic 🤩 Congratulations on Qualifying for your first Olympics! I know the feeling 🥰Tokyo here we come!!🙋🏻‍♀️😎

— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) April 10, 2021

India now has a total of six wrestlers, three female wrestlers and three men wrestlers, who have qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Among the women, we have Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Sonam Malik (62kg), and among the men, we have Ravi Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), and Deepak Punia (86kg).

About the Olympic Games Tokyo

The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, officially the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, and known as the 2020 Summer Olympics or Tokyo 2020, is an international multi-sport event.

In the year 2020, the event was postponed due to the coronavirus and now will be held from July 23 to August 08, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.

Though the Tokyo Games had been postponed to 2021, they will still be referred to as the Tokyo 2020. The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo organizers agreed on the same.

The list of games conducted at the Tokyo Games includes Basketball, Archery, Artistic Gymnastics, Swimming, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Volleyball, Boxing, Cycling, Diving, Fencing, Football, Golf, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Rowing, Rugby, Sailing, Shooting, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, Surfing, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Wrestling, Weightlifting, Water Polo, Triathlon.