The ace Indian took on the reigning Pan-American champion in a bout that went 5-0. With her win, Phogat seals a medal finish for India, as she will be vying for Gold in the final.
Vinesh Phogat remains one step away from eternal Olympic glory, as the Indian wrestler took down Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez to seal her spot in the final of the Women’s 50kg Freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
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The ace Indian took on the reigning Pan-American champion in a bout that went 5-0.
With her win, Phogat seals a medal finish for India, and also becomes the first Indian female wrestler to compete for Gold in an Olympic final.
Both wrestlers started off the bout patiently, grappling away at each other, but playing it slow and safe as to not give away any cheap points early.
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But, around a minute into the bout, Phogat finally found the breakthrough, taking down the Cuban Guzman, but couldn’t seal any points.
The duo engaged in a grapplefest, as Guzman was hit with a 30-sec shotclock for passivity, through which Vinesh held her ground to secure the first point of the match.
Guzman continued to target Phogat’s legs, but neither the Cuban nor the Indian found any leeway to snatch away points, as both wrestlers went into the halfway break with Phogat leading 1-0.
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Entering into action in the remainder of the time, Phogat was hit with a passivity shotclock herself. But unlike Guzman, Phogat exploded pinning away the Cuban at will to snatch away 4 more points, building up her lead to 5-0 with less than a minute to go.
Guzman’s attempts would end futile, handing over a perfect win to Phogat.
Phogat, who has been in the midst of controversy galore over the past year, got off to a trailblazing start at the Paris Olympics, as she sunk the reigning world champion Japan’s Yui Susaki in the first round of the Women’s 50kg Freestyle event.
Her win also marked a historic first loss in international circuits for the top-seeded Japanese Susaki, who did not concede a single point enroute to her hold during the Tokyo Games in 2020.
Phogat’s dream run in the Paris Olympics continued as she got the better of Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the quarterfinals of the 50kg Women’s Freestyle event at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
Phogat showcased her experience and vigilance as she surgically dismantled Livach 7-5 to seal her spot in the semifinal.
