New Delhi, August 4: Anshu Malik, India’s freestyle wrestler, has brought pride to the nation on the global stage. Hailing from a wrestling family in Haryana, Anshu made history in 2021 by becoming the first Indian woman to win a silver medal at the World Wrestling Championship. She has also clinched gold at the Asian Championships and has left her mark in two Olympic appearances.
Born on August 5, 2001, in Nidhani village of Jind district, Haryana, wrestling runs in Anshu’s veins. Her father, Dharmveer, represented the Indian junior wrestling team in the 1990s. The entire village thrives in a wrestling culture. At just 11 years old, Anshu expressed her desire to learn wrestling. While her mother hoped she would become a doctor, her father supported her passion, leading to her training at Chaudhary Bharat Singh Memorial School.
In the local akhada, Anshu was defeating seasoned wrestlers. She won the title at the Asian Cadet Championship in 2016, followed by a bronze at the World Cadet and Junior Championships in 2018. The next year, she secured gold for India at the Asian Junior Championships.
In 2020, Anshu earned silver at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series and a bronze at the Asian Championships. She qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the women’s 57 kg wrestling category but faced defeat in the Round of 16 against Belarus’s Irina Kurachkina due to an elbow injury. However, she bounced back the following year, winning a silver medal at the World Championship, overcoming her Olympic disappointment.
In 2022, Anshu made her Commonwealth Games debut, securing a silver medal for the country. She competed in her second Olympics in 2024 but was defeated in the pre-quarterfinals by America’s Helen Maroulis. Anshu has won medals at the Asian Wrestling Championships three times and was honored with the Arjuna Award in 2022 for her outstanding performances in wrestling.
Anshu’s passion and determination serve as an important lesson for the younger generation. Her hard work and discipline inspire many, proving that with complete dedication, any significant goal can be achieved.
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