Wrestler, U23 Asian Wrestling Championships gold medallist Priya Malik: Yeh shuruat hai, mera sapna bahut bada hai
All of 20, Priya Malik is well on her way to becoming the next big thing in Indian wrestling. On Friday, the Haryana native clinched the gold medal at the U23 Asian Wrestling Championships in Vung Tau, Vietnam. Priya Malik won all three bouts by technical precision on her way to a gold in the women's 76kg category.
Competing in the women's 76kg category, Priya won all three bouts with technical precision, leaving no room for doubt that she's one to watch.
Following her win, the wrestler is ecstatic, but she knows the work isn't quite done yet. 'I am extremely happy right now, but this win will not stay with me for too long,' she says and elaborates, 'Yeh bas shuruat hai. Mera sapna hai ki pehle Asian Games mein aur fir 2028 mein Olympics mein India ke liye gold lana hai.'
Ask if there was any nervousness when she stepped up to the mat for the final match and Priya dismisses the thought. 'Bahut confidence milta hai jab aap mat pe hote hain aur aapko pata hai ki koi aapke against uss time pe point score nahin kar sakta,' she replies, noting that this comes from a conviction in her own strong mindset.
The rising star from a village in Jind also credits one man for pushing her forward — her dadda (grandfather) Prithvi Singh. Talking about her first coach and biggest cheerleader, Priya reminisces, 'Dadda mere pehle inspiration the. Agar bachpan mein woh na hote, toh main wrestler nahin hoti. He got me interested in the sport and never left my side till his passing in 2020. I miss him on days like these but I know he is watching from above and smiling.'
While she's had a strong support system in her family, the wrestler acknowledges that several other girls with the same dreams and aspirations as her aren't as fortunate. 'Main khush kismat hoon, lekin bahut si ladkiyan apna sapna nahin jee pati,' she muses. 'I would like to tell those girls, agar tumne apne liye sapna dekh liya hai, toh kaun kya bol raha hai kabhi mat suno. Jis din tum apne mukaam ko haasil kar logi, uss din wahi sab tumhare peeche khade honge,' she signs off. For more, follow HT City Delhi Junction
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
43 minutes ago
- First Post
India still in control, but costly errors keep England alive at Headingley
The first Test between India and England at Headingley remains evenly poised after three days, with India slightly ahead. However, costly fielding lapses and questionable selection choices may come back to haunt India later on, especially if they go down. read more Another day in the books at Headingley, another that ends with this Test fascinatingly poised – a back-and-forth contest with all results still very much possible. India may very well win this game, in fact statisticians CricViz have them as 48% favourites to do so (England 37%, the draw 15%) – but as those numbers indicate they could also quite easily lose too and if they do they may well look back and rue the small but crucial moments that could cost them dearly. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Thakur's selection backfires? Perhaps the first of these came before the toss, India opting for the selection of Shardul Thakur, picked as a bowling all-rounder who would bat at number eight. Except Thakur only bowled six overs in England's innings, which, considering it lasted more than 100 overs, is little more than a part-timer might expect to get. Not only that but they went for 38 wicketless runs – 6.33 per over – and to add insult to injury, he also managed to bowl nearly 30% of India's no-balls too. To cap off the all-around performance, he also made just 1 with the bat. If India had wanted Thakur in the side for his bowling then why did he bowl so little? It is difficult to argue that any of Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh or Kuldeep Yadav wouldn't have added far more to the visitor's cause on that front. And if they wanted someone to bolster the lower-order batting while chipping in with the occasional over, then surely Nitish Reddy would have made more sense. India's collapse proves costly However, it would be churlish to lay all of the blame on the selection of Thakur. Arguably, when the dust settles from this match, the moment India will regret the most is the hour either side of the lunch break on Day Two. To collapse from 430/3 to 471 all out is unfortunate, but to do so on a pitch where three of your top five have already made hundreds smacks of carelessness. Fielding errors may haunt India Perhaps where India were the sloppiest though was in the field. When Jasprit Bumrah had England under the cosh early on it was Indian mistakes that allowed the hosts to just about cling on. Zak Crawley was already back in the shed and both Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope looked far from secure at the crease – it seemed more like a case of when rather than if the next Bumrah breakthrough would come. Indeed, it should have been the last ball of the seventh over, Duckett carved Bumrah straight to backward point, except the normally outstanding Ravindra Jadeja spilled the catch; England's opener reprieved on just 15, the hosts given an enormous let off. It marked the start of a loose period in the field for India, several fumbles allowing England to pick off extra runs here and there – a gradual easing of the pressure at the very moment that they should have been trying their hardest to really turn the screw. Pope would also be reprieved on 60, dropped by Yashasvi Jaiswal again off the bowling of Bumrah – he would have a century before the close. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even India's premier fast bowler wasn't immune from the disease, Bumrah overstepping for a potentially match-turning no ball when he'd had Harry Brook caught at midwicket for 0 – he would ultimately make 99 priceless runs to drag England almost to parity. Unfortunately for India, their sloppiness in the field was something that carried over into Day Three. Brook given a lifeline with lunch looming, put down by Rishabh Pant on 46 off the bowling of Jadeja. India still hold the edge In fact, there was no greater beneficiary of Indian profligacy than Brook, bailed out again by a dropped catch on 82 – Jaiswal off the bowling of Bumrah for the second time in the match. Given he dropped both of England's top scorers, it is fortunate the opener had plenty of credit in the bank following his sparkling first innings ton. Ultimately, India should probably not be too concerned. Should they win, then all these moments will be forgotten; should they lose they can at least take solace in the fact that they have displayed enormous firepower with both bat and ball, with only a few minor adjustments needed to iron out the kinks. Whatever the result, on the evidence of three days in Leeds, we should be in for a cracking series.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Bumrah defends Indian fielders
In a parallel world, Jasprit Bumrah could have had more than the five wickets he ended up with in England's first innings here, and that too in double quick time. But a disastrous fielding display by his teammates – they dropped three catches off his bowling – and some rotten luck – he dismissed Harry Brook off a no-ball when on nought – ensured India was on the field for far longer than desired. But Bumrah was empathetic towards his fielders. 'You have to move forward,' he said on Sunday. 'I try to quickly forget. They [fielders] are also new [to England] and sometimes the ball is tough to sight. I don't want to be angry and kicking and putting more pressure.' Bumrah also stated that the wicket was still good to bat. 'There is a little bit of two-pace and the new ball might swing. But no demons. It's a fast scoring ground. So the more runs we get, the better.' By his own admission, the 31-year-old is not looking to play more than three Tests this series for better management of his workload. But the potential limited participation doesn't affect his thinking and preparation, he said. 'You don't look at what is going to happen. At this moment, I am trying to assess the wicket, and the batter. I am not thinking about how many games I am going to play.' The constant chatter about his career ending because of injuries also doesn't bother him. 'It was once said that I can't play cricket at all. Then it became six months, eight months. But it's been more than 10 years now in internationals and 12 to 13 years of IPL. Still people are saying 'I will go'. People can keep saying, but I am going nowhere. I will keep playing until god allows me to and try taking Indian cricket forward.'
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Rohini Rules Again For Maharashtra, Gayatri Gets Maiden National Wrestling Gold
1 2 3 Nagpur: Maharashtra's most experienced grappler and reigning Asian Games gold medallist, Rohini Khanu Devba of Kolhapur, won all the bouts she played without conceding a point to underline her supremacy in the Chief Minister's Cup U-15 National wrestling championship, which concluded at the indoor stadium of Divisional Sports Complex in Mankapur on Sunday. Maharashtra grapplers managed to clinch just two gold medals on the concluding day, with Haryana wrestlers stealing the thunder of the home state by winning the overall championship in all three categories. Maharashtra finished second by marginally falling short to Haryana in both the boys' and girls' freestyle events and in the Greco-Roman boys' group. While Maharashtra started their campaign on a high on Saturday, the home state grapplers fared poorly on the concluding day. The face-saving gold medals that Maharashtra won came in the girls' freestyle category, where Rohini lived up to her top billing, and Gayatri Shinde from Shirsodi village of Indapur Taluka in Pune, registered a thumping triumph. As many as five Maharashtra grapplers managed to reach the finals on Sunday but missed the India bus by losing their bouts. The champion wrestler in all the groups qualified to represent the country in the forthcoming Asian Championship. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Esse novo alarme com câmera é quase gratuito em Passos (consulte o preço) Alarmes Undo In the girls' freestyle section, Rohini, 33kg weight category National and Asian Games champion, participated in the higher 36kg group. Much like her dominance during the Asian Championship held last year in Thailand, Rohini won all the bouts she played in the 36kg group without losing a single point. In the final, Rohini blanked Karnataka's Sushmita Kammar 10-0 to register a thumping triumph. Later in the evening, another small-town girl from Maharashtra, Gayatri Shinde, rallied from a point down to outclass Shrasti Kumar from Delhi 12-6 and win the 42kg gold medal. While Rohini and Gayatri sealed their Indian berth for the Asian Championship, Maharashtra's Ketaki Jadhav and Sharvari Rathod suffered heartbreaking losses in the finals. Ketaki lost the 62kg freestyle final to Uttar Pradesh's Ankita Kushavha, while Sharvari Rathod went down fighting to Punjab's Puravi Sharma in the controversial 66kg girls' summit clash 3-5. Of the 10 weight category U-15 boys' Greco-Roman event, three Maharashtra grapplers managed to reach the finals but suffered losses to win silver medals. In the 62kg final, Darpan Chaudhari failed to find the grip against Karnataka's Taimmeshi, losing the clash 4-13. Similarly, in the 85kg title round, Rahul Satkar went down fighting to UP's Suraj Sharma 9-14 in a high-scoring bout. Earlier, in an exciting 41kg final, Sachin Shirole of Maharashtra suffered a heartbreaking 6-8 defeat against Haryana's Monu Kumar. The four bronze medals that Maharashtra grapplers Sarthak Phuge, Dhiraj Daphale, Vinayak Tambekar, and Harshvardhan Patil won came in the 38kg, 48kg, 52kg, and 57kg weight categories respectively. Haryana wrestlers winning in all the categories clinched the general championship. Despite failing to win a gold medal, Maharashtra Greco-Roman wrestlers finished second, collecting 147 points. Haryana finished on top of the table with 157 points, while Rajasthan came third with 116 points. In the girls' freestyle group, Haryana edged out Maharashtra by nine points (171-161). Delhi, with 139 points, finished third. Similarly, in the boys' freestyle event, Haryana (155) outclassed Maharashtra (137) by 18 points. Later, in the concluding ceremony, president of Maharashtra Wrestling Association and former MP Ramdas Tadas, president of the organising committee and MLC Sandip Joshi, Hindkesari Yogesh Dhoke, NMC sports officer Piyush Ambulkar, and other WFI officials distributed the prizes.
