Vinesh Phogat becomes 1st Indian female wrestler to qualify for a gold-medal match
Late on Tuesday, India time, Vinesh Phogat became the first ever Indian female wrestler to qualify for an Olympic final, when she defeated Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman 5-0 in the 50kg semi-final.
She will now fight USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, for the gold medal.
Vinesh stormed into the final on the back of three stunning wins–against the reigning Pan American Games champion Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba in the semi-finals, against the former European champion Oksana Livach of Ukraine in the quarter-finals and against the defending champion and current world number one, Yui Sasuki of Japan.
The only Olympic medal in women’s wrestling so far has come from Sakshi Malik, who clinched a bronze medal in the 58kg category at the 2016 Rio Olympics, a tournament where Vinesh was a favourite too till a nasty injury did her in.
And what a year it has been for Vinesh–from being one of the leaders of the months-long protest against the former Wrestling Federation of India Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for the sexual harassment of young female wrestlers to now, a top-two podium finish for the first time ever by an Indian woman wrestler.
