Wrestler Sonam Malik continued her reign as she defeated Sakshi Malik for the third time. Sonam stood victorious in her match against Olympian Sakshi Malik and registered her win in the 62kg category. With this, Sonam is also one step closer to the Olympics.

In the 23rd Women’s Wrestling National Championships, Sonam was representing Haryana as she beat Olympic medalist, Sakshi Malik and won with 7-5 total. This marks 18-year old Sonam’s third win against Sakshi as she continues to retain her title.

It is ironic how Sonam almost had to stop wrestling due to a serious arm injury she faced. But during her match with Sakshi, it is the strength in her arms that got her the win during the match that was held in Agra. Along with her two wins against Sakshi during the selection trials for international tournaments and the recent National Championships win, it becomes the third win for Sonam and an overall hat-trick.

Sonam’s first win against Sakshi came at the selection trials for the Rome Rankings Series and the second at Asian Championships last year. In 2020, she caused a storm with her performance during the selection trials for the Olympic Qualifiers in February. She outsmarted Manisha and Bhagyashree.

With all that is going on, it was still not confirmed if Sonam has a guaranteed spot in the Olympics qualifiers. Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) told that as Olympics is a big and major event, it is important that you give a chance to everyone. That is why the committee will take their time and organize the selection trails, accordingly.

In the 23rd Women’s Wrestling National Championships, Sonam won the 62kg category, while Pinki won the 72kg. Minakshi came out victorious in the 50kg, Anju in 55kg and lastly Anshu won the 57kg category.