A determined Vinesh Phogat continued her impressive run at the Paris Olympics as the Indian wrestler defeated Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman in the semifinal of the women's 50 kg freestyle wrestling competition on Tuesday to make it to the final. (Highlights | Medal Table | Schedule & Results | Full Coverage)
Vinesh defeated her Cuban rival 5-0 in the semifinal bout to become the first Indian female wrestler to make it to an Olympic gold medal fight.
In the final, the 29-year-old will face American Sarah Hildebrandt, who defeated Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal of Mongolia in the other semifinal bout.
Both Phogat and her Cuban opponent started defensively but it was the Indian who got off the mark first as her rival did not take a risk even though she was up against the passivity clock. Vinesh took that 1-0 lead to the end of the first period.
Guzman tried to grab Vinesh's leg a few times in the first period, but the Indian's defence was up to the mark.
Midway through the second period, it was Vinesh who found herself up against the passivity clock. However, this was the time when Vinesh made her match-winning moves. She managed to bring her Cuban opponent down to get two points and a flip added two more to her tally.
After extending her lead to 5-0, the Indian wrestler ensured Guzman could not reach towards her legs and ended the bout with the lead to get into the final.
Vinesh has had a turbulent last year as she spearheaded the protest against the former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh alongside Olympic medalists, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik. She also suffered a knee injury and lost out on an Olympic quota in the 53 kg category, where she had fought for the last five years. She then competed in the 50kg trials to book a ticket to Paris.
In Paris, with the odds stacked against her, Vinesh brought out her A game. The unseeded Vinesh had to battle past the top seeded and yet-to-be defeated in her 82 bouts, Japan's Yui Susaki and somehow, the Indian star managed to do that. Vinesh then defeated Ukraine's eighth seed Oksana Livach in the quarterfinal.
She now remains just a step away from becoming the first Indian to win a gold in Olympic wrestling. In the final she will face United States' Hildebrandt. The 30-year-old veteran has four World Championships medals. Like Phogat, she also lowered the weight class, from 53kg to 50kg.
