How many more medals do I have to win to get Arjuna Award: Wrestler Sakshi Malik asks PM Modi

Sakshi Malik won bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics, becoming the first Indian women wrestler win a medal at the Olympics

Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik was excluded from the final list of sportspersons who would be honoured with the prestigious Arjuna Award this year because she is already a Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee.

Hurt by the decision, the wrestler wrote an open letter on August 22 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju.

माननीय प्रधानमंत्री @narendramodi जी ओर माननीय खेल मंत्री @KirenRijiju जी । pic.twitter.com/YF1hQuJfPi

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— Sakshi Malik (@SakshiMalik) August 22, 2020

Stating that she is honoured to have been awarded the Khel Ratna, she wrote it is every sportsperson’s dream to win all the awards and that they dedicate their lives to achieve it. Similarly, she also wishes to become an Arjuna Award winner someday.

Sakshi Malik was one of the only Indians who brought home a medal during the 2016 Rio Olympics and won a gold for India at the Commonwealth Championships and silver at the Asian Championships.

Sakshi won bronze medals at the Asian Championships of 2018 and 2019, and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She was also awarded the Padma Shri in the year 2017, which is the country’s fourth-highest civilian award.