UPDATE: Vinesh Phogat was later disqualified from the 2024 Paris Olympics after failing to make weight on the morning of her gold medal bout.
Vinesh Phogat is in an Olympic final. Even in an Olympic year, that's one of the most amazing storylines you'll read.
After the last 18 months she's had, after the Olympic heartbreaks she has had, Vinesh Phogat will be fighting for gold in the Paris Olympics. And she got there in some style, beating down upon Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba in the semifinal in a most emphatic manner to win 5-0.
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It capped an extraordinary day, that began with her pulling off a stunning upset to beat reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki (who has only been beaten three times in her career) and then Ukraine's Oksana Livach in the quarterfinal.
The final will be on Wednesday night.
In the first round, the two wrestlers were cautious, circling each other but with Vinesh controlling the flow, Lopez was handed a passivity warning and then put under a clock. After not being able to mount an attack in those 30 seconds, Vinesh was awarded the first point of the match.
The match remained cagey till the final two minutes, when Vinesh was given a passivity warning. This saw Vinesh fly into top gear. A takedown brought her two points, and an immediate flip brought two more. With the score at 5-0, Vinesh expertly managed the remaining thirty-odd seconds to absolutely storm into the final. It's made even more impressive considering how she got there.
Vinesh started her campaign with a stunning win over defending champion Yui Susaki. The Japanese wrestler had not lost an international bout in her professional career -- losing thrice before this in ten years, all to compatriot Yuki Irie -- but Vinesh undid her with a superb tactical game. Defending for 5 minutes and 45 seconds of the 6-minute bout, she kept Yui Susaki at bay conceding two passivity points but not worrying one bit about the 2-0 lead she had conceded. In the last 15 seconds, Vinesh brought out her direct attack.
Traditionally an attacking wrestler Vinesh had shown remarkable patience, but she brought out her A game in the last 15 seconds to push Susaki off balance and flip her onto the mat. Two points, and on countback Vinesh was the victor. Susaki challenged, but to no avail, and ended up losing 3-2. Vinesh celebrated the win like it was a medal round, as well she might. Susaki's stunned face at the end said it all -- many had thought Susaki was unbeatable at this (or any) level, but Vinesh had proven them all wrong.
In the quarterfinal, she took on Ukraine's Oksana Livach and went back to her usual strategy. Attacking from the off, she took a 2-0 lead in the first half. She came out attacking and went 4-0 up before a Livach attack made it 4-2, then a solid hold gave her 5-2 edge which she extended to 7-2 with some sensational attacking. Livach went all out in desperation but could only push the score to 7-5 as Vinesh held her at arm's length with relative ease.