New Delhi April 20 : It’s 5 am, Sakshi Malik gets up, freshens up, and goes to the backyard of her house in Mokhra village in Rohtak. She opens a small gate of an old and unused Akhara. She has been levelling the akhara soil with a wooden log tied to a long rope for many days. A determined Sakshi did it all alone with the help of her coaches over the phone.
She can’t go out and doesn’t have a sparring partner due to the lockdown enforced to combat the deadly coronavirus pandemic. But the Rio Olympics medallist has ensured she will not leave a single stone unturned to remain focused and since she doesn’t have access to modern training equipment, has decided to go the ‘desipehelwani’ way.
‘Abhi bilkul mai desi pehelwani kar rahi hun (These days I am doing desi style wrestling). There is an Akhara in the backyard of my house. I never used or opened it.
These days, I go and open it and practice there. I do early morning and evening practice. The process is quite time consuming and requires a lot of hard work, but I amreally enjoying it. It is very entertaining as well (laughs),” Sakshi told Timesofindia.com in an exclusive interview from Rohtak.
“You must have seen the wrestlers in rural areas, they would plough the area before stepping into it. I do the same these days. Apart from this, running, yoga andstretching are also on my roster of things to do ,” the Rio Olympics bronze medallist said.
After finishing her morning practice, Sakshi makes a video call to her doctors and physio to decide the work.
(TOI)
