Vinesh Phogat made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final of an Olympic Games after she defeated Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman 5-0 in the semifinal of the 50 kg freestyle event here.
Following the victory, which assured India their fourth medal at the Paris Olympics, Phogat seemed to be fully focused on the final against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt.
“Tomorrow is an important day, will talk then,” said Vinesh Phogat to reporters following her encounter showcasing her determination and aim to win India its first-ever gold medal in wrestling.
Her emphatic victory over the Cuban can only be described as a hard-fought encounter with none of the grapplers wanting to give away unnecessary points. Vinesh held off Guzman’s attacks and waited for the perfect opportunity to pounce. One point in the first round and four in the second saw her seal the comfortable victory.
This was Vinesh’s third victory of the day as she earlier defeated World no 1. Japan’s four-time World Champion and Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Yui Susaki in a statement victory, 3-2 in the pre-quarterfinal. It was a stunning win against an opponent who was undefeated in 95 international matches, her entire career as a wrestler.
Vinesh then went on to showcase her attacking prowess alongside her brilliant defensive resilience in the quarterfinal as she overcame Ukraine’s Oksana Vasylivna Livach 7-5 in her second bout of the day, which booked her a spot in the semifinals.
Two Indian male freestyle wrestlers — Sushil Kumar in 2012 and Ravi Dahiya in 2020 Tokyo have reached the final. However, both had to be satisfied with silver medals.
India thus has never won a gold medal in wrestling despite it being their second most successful sport at the Games behind Hockey (12). The country has so far won seven Olympic medals in wrestling — two silver and five bronze medals.