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Xtra Time Web Desk: In the 57kg wrestling category, Anshu Malik became the first woman to enter the World Championship final in October, returned after a break with her eyes set to win.

The 20 year old wrestler had been working day and night at the training centre at Nidani, Haryana sharpening skills on the mat.

Anshu established herself as an excellent wrestler to win silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Malik’s rise was inspiring. She won gold at the Asian championships and then blitzed the field in Almaty, Kazakhstan with her relentless attacking style in Olympic qualifiers in April to qualify for the Tokyo.

“I just enjoyed all those moments on the mat. Whenever I win a medal, it is very satisfying,” says Malik.

It has only been two weeks since Malik healed from an elbow injury which worsened in the World Championship lost against Helen Maroulis, USA.

"I have spoken to the federation (WFI) that I want a foreign coach and they have given me the go ahead. I want to finalise a coach by the end or start of February. I feel a foreign coach can fine tune my game and also bring a scientific approach to my training,” says Malik.

She further added, "“My focus next season will be on the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. I will start my season with the Asian Championships in April. The dates of the world championships (Sept 10-18) and Asian Games (Sep 10-25) are clashing, so I will go for the Asian Games.”

Wherever I have played at any level, I go only for medals. The feeling of winning a medal is very important to me. Podium pe jana hi jaana hai. Medla chahiye hi chahiye. (I must get on the podium, I must win medals). If I don’t win a medal, I feel guilty. I question myself, “what did I come to do in a tournament? What about all my hard work and training, and the effort of my support staff?” Gussa aata hai aur woh zarrori bhi hai (I feel angry and that is important too).

“When I started wrestling, it was because I wanted to win. I wanted to compete. I had no other ambition in taking up the sport, like a job or accomplishing something else in the sport. It was only, and only, to win. It doesn't matter what the level of competition is. I just love to compete,” says Malik.

While there is this insatiable hunger to compete and succeed, she also looks at her losses positively.

“If I don’t win, it’s not like it affects me negatively. It is an opportunity to learn and work on my game. There is nobody at home, or my coach, who puts me under any sort of pressure when I lose. They support and I know that one loss is not the end of road. In the next opportunity I should be better prepared.”

She did exactly that after the Tokyo Olympics. Despite a strained elbow, Malik was determined to fight at the world Championships. She was not happy with her performance in Tokyo and wanted to prove herself on the big stage.

“My left elbow was hurt during trials in India before the Olympics. After Tokyo, I needed some time to recover, but I wanted to compete in the world championships, so I prepared, taking care of my elbow with advice from my physio. It was painful but I wanted to give my best after Olympics. After Tokyo, I was feeling mentally low.”

In Tokyo, Malik lost to Iryna Kurachkina of Belarus 8-2 but made it to the repechage round once Iryna reached the final. In repechage, she lost to Valeria Koblova of Russia.

“I was not playing my natural attacking game at the Olympics. I was defensive. If I go too much into defence, I will not succeed in scoring. If I have four or five points in the first period, I need to go for 10 in the second period. That’s my game. It was my first Olympics. There was pressure and the whole situation, the way the Games happened, was also new for everyone.”

She brought her attacking game to fore in October at the world championships in Oslo, pouncing on opponents and racking up points. In a high-pressure semi-final, Malik defeated Solomiia Vynnyk of Ukraine 11-0. In the final, she lost by fall to Maroulis—the Rio Olympics gold medallist and a three-time world champion.

Malik led 1-0 in the first period. In the second period, her left elbow was in Maroulis’s grasp and she got into a tangle from where it was difficult to recover. As Maroulis completed her winning move and celebrated, Malik was writhing in pain on the mat.

“My fight was for the gold. There was a position where she was holding my elbow and I felt a jerk in it. It brought my focus to my injury. My right shoulder was also injured. It could have been a bad injury. It has taken me more than two months of rehab to recover from my injuries.”