Behind the Journey: Season 2 – Sakshi

Bringing home the 'Gold' is the ultimate dream for every sportsperson. Amongst the countable few who have achieved this dream is Sakshi Malik, who had always hoped for a win at the Olympics.

As a child, Sakshi always wanted to choose a sport in which she could excel and become famous. That was also when she learned that her grandfather used to wrestle in villages, and since she was closely attached to the sport, she too chose wrestling as her choice of sport. Sakshi credits a lot of her success to her parents' support, who despite having government jobs and busy schedules, sacrificed a lot by ensuring she reached her training classes on time, attended tournaments across the country etc.

Being the only member in her family to pursue sports as a career was also challenging as she did not have anyone to guide her about her career graph. But the persistent Sakshi absorbed the necessary information from her seniors during training, where they guided her about the necessity of coming 'first' every time. Making a mark by grabbing national honours was certainly exciting for the young Sakshi, but her motivating factor was a rather simple one – she wanted to fly in an airplane!

Today, Sakshi has won several accolades and made India proud, but her biggest achievement back then was to qualify for the Olympics for which she set personal targets. The young girl put Rohtak on the world map when she floored formidable opponents to pick up the bronze, seemingly effortlessly. She became an overnight celebrity and an instant youth icon.

However, there's always a story behind the glory. People often only see the medals sportspersons win, but they do not understand the struggle they go through in the background – the pain, surgeries and mental stress faced during the matches that go before the big win. Sakshi's journey in the first few days was tough but she learned to live every day on certain terms, carefully watching what she ate and strictly following the schedule she was asked to follow. Since wrestling is a contact sport, Sakshi had to train hard and also focus on taking rest, in order to train again in the day, thereby maintaining strength, speed and focus.

Her dedication to her sport and the training and practice it involves is to be seen to be believed. Winning the medal hasn't made her complacent – she continues to remain passionate towards bettering her performances and has set her eyes on another victory for the country!

Her lesson of learning 'discipline' and staying consistent at her efforts is an important one, as it matters the most for any sports person. But Sakshi also realised that the same is true of investments, as one gets to see the positive results only after a few years of consistent and focused investing. Working hard towards achieving goals is applicable for both sports and investments, she says. Sakshi won the medal for India and people have invested their belief in her, with a hope that she would win more medals for the country with every match she plays. As always, she has now strengthened her focus on training and has set a long-term goal of building a training centre where one can train with all the facilities that are lacking in the country today. Sakshi's aim is to provide international standards of training which she has experienced in different countries, so children who want to pursue the sport do not face the challenges and difficulties she and her other friends have had to face. Sakshi's aim is to be associated with wrestling for her entire life and thereby invest in making a brighter future for the children of this country who wish to pursue wrestling.

Sakshi's mantra can be followed by all of us who intend to have a brighter future through discipline and sustained effort. A sound investment partner like HDFC Life can be the perfect partner for your dreams, with products like HDFC Life Click 2 Wealth that will help you lead a secure life and grow your wealth, all at the same time!

 

ARN: ED/01/20/17539