Sakshi Malik recalls Rio bronze and her fight till the end

NEW DELHI: Star Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik gives all-credit to a three-month training camp that helped her "immensely" win an Olympic medal in Rio in 2016.

"Before the Rio Olympics, we had training camps abroad wherein we could train with partners from different countries. I had wrestling matches against World and Olympic medallists," said Malik while speaking on the show 'The A-Game' hosted by ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu.

"I learned a lot of techniques and gained a lot of experience. So, the three-month training period abroad was very important for me. The training camp gave me a lot of exposure and it helped me immensely to win an Olympic medal," said the wrestler.

A chance to win an Olympic medal was slipping away from Malik when she was trailing 0-5 against Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan in the Repechage medal playoff in Rio, but the wrestler fought back and won the bout 8-5.

"I was down 0-5, but I knew that I had a lot of time to make a comeback and I had made comebacks in my previous matches. My coach Kuldeep sir was telling me to play my own game, play an attacking wrestling game," said the 28-year-old.

"When I started playing aggressively, I started to win points. I didn't give up until the last second and gave my 100 per cent to win the match and the Olympic medal," she added.