“My relatives and neighbours would have probably left my parents alone if I was a boy. They wouldn’t leave a single opportunity to make my parents feel guilty about having two daughters. But my parents paid no heed to them. They also made it possible for me to pursue my passion for wrestling,” said Roadies Extreme contestant Samiksha Malik, a student of Lady Shri Ram in Delhi.
This Roadies season, Samiksha had the attention of the viewers from the audition itself. But what made us and judges feel worse was the fact that her parents had to move out of their ancestral home because her grandparents wanted a son. But, on the bright side, her parents always encouraged her sister and her to chase their dreams.
Hailing from Rohtak, Samiksha is currently pursuing B.A. in Psychology from Delhi University and is a wrestler and a martial artist. During her audition, she spoke about her achievements which include her participation in wrestling at the international level. “I got into sports when wrestling coach Mr. Ishwar Singh Dahiya himself asked my parents that he would like to train me after seeing my motivation, energy and untiring nature.”
But it was not just her relatives and neighbours who didn’t believe in her. Samiksha has often been questioned about her career choices. “Because of my appearance even wrestling people question my career choices that with a height of 5 feet and 9 inches and these good looks why am I investing my time in sports,” said Samiksha. She further said that these people even advised her to go for modelling. However, all these reasons never bothered her and she aspires to be a fitness role model in the future.
Samiksha certainly proves that it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a boy, you can achieve what you want.
