19-year-old Anshu Malik becomes fifth Indian wrestler to qualify for Tokyo Olympics

India's female wrestler Anshu Malik has qualified for this year's Tokyo Olympics after defeating Uzbekistan's Shokhida Akhmedova 12-2 in the semifinals of the 57kg division at the Asian Olympic qualifiers on Saturday in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Anshu Malik seals first-ever Olympics berth

Coming back to the 57-kg women's semi-final wrestling match, the 19-year-old seemed to be dominant right from the word 'Go' as she earned her first two points in no time and collected a couple more precious points in the same minute. However, the tables turned as Akhmedova hit back and grappled the Haryana wrestler as she gained two points. However, it turned out to be a one-sided contest as Anshu was already leading by a 10-2 margin at the halfway mark and eventually, she won by technical superiority of 12-2 with good two-and-a-half minutes on the clock.

Meanwhile, the 19-year-old from Haryana becomes the fifth Indian wrestler to qualify for the Games so far. Other wrestlers who will be on their way to Tokyo for participating in this year's Summer Olympics include the likes of  Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), and Vinesh Phogat (women’s 53kg) respectively.

Tokyo Olympics schedule

As per the Tokyo Olympics schedule, the games begin on July 23 this year and end on August 8. As per various reports in Japan, the organisers have decided not to permit international spectators in the stadium as the threat of coronavirus is still prevalent.

The games were originally scheduled for July 2020 but the pandemic resulted in the postponement of the event to this year. The organisers have insisted that they have put in place preventive measures to ensure the safety of the athletes.  Japan's Olympic Committee on April 6 said that the Japanese government hoped the countries will join the games and also promised protective measures.

(Image Courtesy: PTI)