Tokyo Olympics: Wrestler Sonam Malik knocked out of Women's 62kg

The first Indian wrestler in action at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Sonam Malik, lost her round of 16 bout to Mongolia's Bolortuya Khurelkhuu.

It was certainly not the start the Indian fans were hoping for as the 19-year-old after leading for the most part of the bout, faltered in the final 30 seconds to surrender the match to the Mongolian.

Not a great start in wrestling!

🇮🇳 India's #SonamMalik loses to Bolortuya Khurelkhuu of Mongolia 🇲🇳 in the Round of 16 match.#Tokyo2020 | #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/lh9fPY95im

— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) August 3, 2021

Sonam Malik had scored a point in the first half, thanks to a passivity penalty against the Mongolian and then followed it up by pushing the Mongolian out of the mat in the very start of the second round to lead 2-0.

But, Khurelkhuu came back storming in the final 30 seconds to keep the Indian pinned down to the mat for 5 seconds to equalise the score 2-2 and advanced to the next round.

While Sonam Malik did have a chance of moving into the repechage if Bolortuya Khurelkhuu reached the finals of Women's 62kg, it did not really materialise as the Mongolian lost her quarterfinal bout by technical superiority to the Bulgarian Taybe Yusin.

With this loss to Bolortuya, Sonam Malik's journey at the Tokyo Olympics is all but over.