After training with world-class Japanese wrestlers, Anshu Malik brushes domestic challenge away

In a raucous setting with the choicest ‘instructions’ coming from all quarters, and several wrestlers falling down injured, Anshu Malik is an oasis of calm.

Wrestlers are being loaded onto ambulances, while some are competing in two different weight classes. In the midst of this chaos, 22-year-old Anshu, with a bag for a pillow and her mother dutifully massaging her legs while she sleeps, is waiting for the organisers to call her to the mat.

The drama in the 50kg and 53kg categories was the talk of the day, but Anshu still managed to catch the eye. The 57kg final, one of the most anticipated matches of the day, was a showdown between two World Championship podium- finishers – Anshu, the silver medallist from Oslo 2021 and Sarita Mor, a bronze medallist at the same World Championships, albeit in the 59kg category.

Tied at two points apiece with mere seconds remaining in the second period, Mor made her move against her perennial domestic rival. It would be a bearhug followed by a plan to push Anshu out of the mat. Mor almost succeeded in her attempt, succeeding in rattling her opponent.

But Anshu responded. Just when she was about to give up a point and possibly the bout itself, she shifted her weight ever so slightly to the right and went low. Anshu used Mor’s sustained momentum to lift her, twist her and eventually toss her. It was a last-ditch counter and yet when she described the move later, it was attributed to the muscle memory of a recent camp in Japan, one spent at the Nippon University amongst several Olympic gold medallists.

“It’s tough to get an invitation to train in Japan, so when I got the opportunity to face World and Olympic champions from their country, I gladly accepted it,” said Anshu after winning the 57kg trials at NIS Patiala on Monday.

“They enjoy their wrestling. Their training sessions are chill. They give their 100 percent in sparring. Last tak point nahi dena hota hai aur jab chala jata hai toh hasne lagte hain aur fir khade ho jaate hain’. (They don’t give a point till the end but when they do, they just laugh it off and start all over again).”

Exposure to the best

In Japan, the Indian world championship medallist sparred with the likes of four-time Olympic champion Kaori Icho and gold medallist Yui Susaki in an environment that felt like a family atmosphere.

Having been part of European camps earlier, there was always a sense of curiosity as to what made Japan such a force in women’s wrestling. Anshu believes that while Europeans and Indians might work a shade harder than the Japanese, it’s the latter’s system and discipline that wins them consistent Olympic medals.

“Even their seconds, thirds and fourths (ranked wrestlers) are really good,” said Anshu. “We Indians work hard but lack technique. Even today, I won the last bout by tossing my opponent out of the ring, something that I didn’t know how to do earlier but has become part of my muscle memory after training with Japanese wrestlers.”

And it wasn’t just training that she indulged in, in Japan. Her fellow wrestlers insisted that she try Japanese food, one that pushed her towards items such as sushi, ramen and even udon noodles. The highlight though was when double world champion Akari Fujinami invited Anshu and her father for dinner to her home.

“Just like my father is always with me helping in training, Akari’s father also stays with her and makes sure her training is going well. In Japan, everyone calls their father papa. After listening to us for a few days, they started to understand what ‘beta’ meant,” said Anshu.

On Monday, both her parents were present as Anshu cemented her place as the top 57kg category women’s wrestler in India, over Railways’ Mor, Delhi’s Neha Sharma and Haryana’s Pooja.

If Anshu wins a Paris Olympic quota at the Asian Olympic qualifier or the World Olympic qualifier, one of these three will have to beat her twice to take that spot (according to the rules framed by the ad-hoc committee). All she has to do is stay as calm as she has been and let muscle memory take over.

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Women’s team for Asian Olympic qualifiers

50kg: Vinesh Phogat

57kg: Anshu Malik

62kg: Mansi Ahlawat

68kg: Nisha Dahiya

76kg: Reetika

53 kg* – Antim Panghal has already won India the Paris Olympics quota

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