Inspired by Sushil Kumar, Pankaj Malik triumphs in 61kg Freestyle final

Khel Today Bureau

Bengaluru: Pankaj Malik scripted a fairytale finish at the Senior National Wrestling Championships 2024 as he stunned top seed Lalit Kaushal for the gold in the men’s 61kg freestyle final.

Twenty-eight-year-old Pankaj, representing the Services Sports Control Board, credited his triumph to a piece of advice from his idol, two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar: “Confidence comes from practice. Your practice will determine your success. There’s nothing more important than practice.”

Pankaj put in the hard yards in training to perfect his craft and it bore fruit as he beat his much-fancied opponent for SSCB’s first gold of the Senior National Wrestling Championships 2024. “I knew I would beat him (Lalit). There were a lot of good wrestlers in my half of the draw and I had two tough bouts in the quarters and semifinals, but I was confident of winning the gold medal,” Pankaj asserts.

Having taken up wrestling at the age of 10, Pankaj has always looked up to the legendary Sushil. “Sushil Pehelwan has been my idol since day 1. I feel there is no one like him and there may never be a wrestler like him. His sacrifice, discipline and dedication are unmatched,” he says.

Pankaj, a JW1 Officer in the Indian Air Force, has eight Nationals medals to his name but ranks this one on top. “I’m extremely proud and elated to have won this gold medal for the SSCB and Air Force,” says Pankaj, who trains in Sonepat under coach Ajay Balan.

The newly-crowned national champion is eager to perfect his skill-set than changing things up. “I’ve made no changes to my technique. Honestly, everyone knows the techniques of wrestling but what makes the difference is how much you work on these techniques. The more you practice them, say 1000 or 2000 times in training daily, the smoother it becomes and that’s when you get success.”

Hailing to a family of wrestlers from the Bhainswal village in Haryana, Pankaj had wrestling in his blood. His grandfathers were renown wrestlers at the village level and his uncle had also competed in the junior levels before Pankaj took their legacy forward. Having competed at a host of top-level tournaments including at the global and Asian level, Pankaj has set his sights on the upcoming 2025 Asian Championships as his next target.

Pankaj was all praise for the Karnataka Wrestling Association for their seamless hosting of the Senior National Wrestling Championships 2024. “The Karnataka Wrestling Federation has done an excellent job in hosting the competition and went the extra step to make sure we were comfortable. From the stay to the food and playing arena, everything was top-notch,” he adds.