Sonam Malik (born 15 April 2002) is an Indian woman wrestler from Sonipat, Haryana. She won a gold medal at the National Games, and two gold medals at the World Cadet Wrestling Championship. She won a bronze in 62 kg in the 2022 Asian Games.[1][2]
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| Nationality | Indian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 April 2002 Sonipat, Haryana, India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Freestyle Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | 62 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal life and background edit
Malik was born on 15 April 2002 in Madina village of Sonipat, Haryana. Her father and a cousin are wrestlers, who had influence in Malik's decision to pursue the sport. She joined for coaching under coach Ajmer Malik at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Sports Complex in her village. Facilities were inadequate to start with and the coaching academy did not have mats to practice on. The players had to train on the ground, but the ground would turn muddy in rainy days, forcing the players to practice on roads.[3]
In 2017, the wrestler's shoulder was injured in a tournament. The treatment continued for about one-and-half years. In addition to her sports career, Malik is currently pursuing her bachelor of arts degree.[4]
Professional career edit
Malik won a gold medal at the National School Games in 2016. In 2017, she won a silver in the Cadet National Championship, a gold in the World School Games, a bronze medal in the Cadet Asian Wrestling Championship and finished with a gold in the Cadet World Wrestling Championship. In 2018, she won bronze medals at the Cadet Asian Wrestling Championship and the Cadet World Wrestling Championship. In 2019, Malik again won the gold medal at the Cadet World Wrestling Championship.[4]
In 2020, she defeated 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik twice. The first of these came in January in trials for the Asian Championship and later for selection to the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in February.[5][6]
Malik won the silver medal in her event at the 2022 World Junior Wrestling Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria.[7] She competed in the 62 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[8]
Malik won one of the bronze medals in the women's 62 kg event at the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China.[2] She defeated Long Jia of China in her bronze medal match.[2]
References edit
- ^ Desk, TOI Sports (6 October 2023). "Asian Games: Sonam Malik wins bronze in women's 62kg wrestling". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ a b c "2022 Asian Games Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "सोनम मलिक: ओलंपिक मेडल जीतने का सपना देखने वाली पहलवान". BBC News हिंदी (in Hindi). Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Sonam Malik". WrestlingTV. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ "Sonam Malik stuns Sakshi Maliik in trials". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ "Wrestlers Anshu Malik, Sonam Malik qualify for Tokyo Olympics; door shut on Sakshi Malik". The Times of India. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ "2022 World Junior Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Sonam Malik profile page". uww.org. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
External links edit
- Sonam Malik at the International Wrestling Database
- Sonam Malik at Olympedia
