Would look to change colour of my medal in Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Sakshi Malik

Wrestler Sakshi Malik who won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics 2016, on Tuesday said that she would look to change the colour of her medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

"Next Olympics is in Tokyo. I hope that I showcase a good performance there. I would look to change the colour of my medal in the next Olympics. When I previously won the medal, my thought process was just to win laurels, but now I know a lot about the sport and medals, so I am really excited," Malik told reporters at an event.

Malik also gave insights on how the facilities were when she started with wrestling. She also said that winning medals has helped in attracting more viewers towards the sport.

"When I started wrestling, the facilities were not that great. But I started winning medals and this has helped in changing the perception towards the sport," Malik said.

"I have improved myself, I found my weak areas, and I really worked on that," Malik said.

When asked about the upcoming World Championship, Malik said that the first task would be to qualify for the championship and then she will think about medals.

"First I need to qualify for World Championship, then I will think about winning medals there. We train for the whole year. After qualifying, I will think about my opponents," Malik told ANI.

Malik is the only female wrestler from India who has managed to win a medal for the country in the Olympics.

The 26-year-old recently earned her spot in the upcoming Senior World Championship and she was selected in the 62kg category.

Along with Malik, Seems, Vinesh, Sarita, Divya Karan, and Kiran were selected in 50, 53, 57, 68, and 76 Kg, respectively.

The trials for four non-Olympic weight categories will be held in the second week of August.