Showing extraordinary spirit, wrestler Sakshi Malik ended India's wait for a medal by clinching a bronze in a dramatic fashion on day 12 of the Rio Olympic Games.
Sakshi fought five bruising battles in the 58kg category against equally determined opponents in a single day before securing the podium place.
She had lost her quarterfinal bout but got a fresh lease of life when her Russian conqueror reached the final, allowing the Indian to compete in the repechage round.
The 23-year-old grappler from Rohtak in Haryana climbed the medal rostrum with a spectacular come-from-behind 8-5 win over Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan after trailing 0-5 in the first period.
It was the fifth bronze in wrestling for India in its long Olympic history stretching back to 1952 Helsinki Games when Kashaba Jadhav became its first individual medallist.
She is also the fourth female Olympic medallist from India, joining the ranks of weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London) and shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London).
"Meri 12 saal ki tapasya rang layi (It's the fruit of my persistent hard work in the last 12 years). Geeta didi, my senior had qualified for the first time in London. I never thought I would become the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal in wrestling. I hope the remaining wrestlers will also do well," Sakshi said with tears of joy in her eyes.
WATCH the match which earned her the bronze medal in this video.
Sakshi said she was confident of winning a medal and she kept on trying till the last.
"I knew till last that there's a medal in offering, I kept on trying. I was very confident, and this medal is a result of my struggle all these years," she said.
"I never gave up till last, I knew I would win if I lasted till six minutes. In last round, I had to give my maximum, I had the self belief."
This is how her parents celebrated when they saw her win on their TV channel.
WATCH: Moment when #SakshiMalik 's family saw their daughter end India's medal drought at the Rio Olympics pic.twitter.com/mkGcx6LwQg
β ANI (@ANI_news) August 17, 2016
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