"An Olympic medal changes not just an athlete, but community, society", says Sakshi Malik

2016 Olympics bronze medal-winning wrestler Sakshi Malik (centre) with Asian Championship gymnastics gold medal winner Dipa Karmakar and athlete Priya Mohan (left) at an interaction in the city. Pic/Ashish Raje

As the clock ticks for the Paris Olympics beginning July 26, the level of anticipation is growing as well. The Asia Society India Centre and JSW Group held a panel discussion called An Olympic Dream: Sport in India at the Museum of Solutions (MuSO) in Lower Parel on Friday.

The interaction session involved Olympian wrestler Sakshi Malik, Asian Senior Championship gold medallist gymnast Dipa Karmakar and track and field athlete Priya Mohan. Parth Jindal, founder of Inspire Institute of Sport and JSW Sports, was also part of the discussion moderated by journalist Sohini Chattopadhyay. Mohan is a contender for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics while Karmakar came fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Malik, bronze medal winner in 2016, was the first Indian woman to win a wrestling Olympic medal.

Better infrastructure

A clip of Karmakar doing the incredibly challenging Produnova vault called a "death wish" by legendary gymnast Simone Biles was shown on a screen. "Only those who finish fourth know the pain. We can never change that. We may cry, but eventually you have to decide to go on. I take heart from the fact that my home of Tripura has changed hugely infrastructure wise post the Olympics.

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The foam pit is now accessible to all gymnasts. Kids are so interested in the sport and the mindset has changed significantly," said Karmakar.

‘Oly medal changes society'

Wrestler Malik, speaking about beginnings and transformation, said, "the mindset was, are these girls going to wrestle? Who will marry them? A lot of things changed especially for parents after my medal. Several parents told me they wanted their daughters to be like me," she said to cheers and applause.

"An Olympic medal changes not just an athlete, but community, society. An Olympic medal impacts everyone hugely. Today, there is a craze for wrestling in Haryana. There is an akhada every 10 minutes, there are women training in every akhada. No longer do people think that sporting success is only an avenue for a job. Now, they think we want to wrestle for an Olympic medal," Malik added.

Ace quarter miler (400m) Mohan was asked about a recent chest injury which was a setback.

"Everybody has a different time to peak. This setback will make me stronger. Time is lost, but in the end, I have not lost anything. My mindset changed because of Neeraj Chopra's gold. That made me think I could do it," Mohan said on a gritty, upbeat note.