Olympics: Susaki from Japan has never lost in her entire career। This achievement is significant because Vinesh beat her after 82 games।
Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has secured her place in the final of the women’s 50 kg wrestling category at the Paris Olympics by defeating Cuba’s Lopez Guzman with a score of 5-0 in the semifinals. On August 7, she will face Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States in the final . With this victory, Vinesh has also assured herself of a medal.
Vinesh started this Olympics very well, fighting against Susaki, a wrestler who had never lost a match in her international career. Vinesh ended Susaki’s winning streak of 82-0. Vinesh then won two more matches, reaching the final and securing a medal । This is the first time in this Olympics that India is assured of a medal above bronze. Manu Bhaker had previously won bronze medals in the women’s 10m air pistol event, mixed 10m air pistol event with Sarabjot, and 50m rifle three-position event।
Vinesh defeated Japan’s Susaki—a four-time world champion and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist—in her first match, which was the pre-quarterfinal। This was Susaki’s first loss in international wrestling, making Vinesh’s achievement even more special. In the last 15 seconds of the match, Susaki was leading 2-0. However, Vinesh, competing in her third Olympics, used all her experience to successfully take down the Japanese champion wrestler and score two points in the final moments.
Japan’s team: appealed against it, but the referee rejected it after watching the video replay, giving Vinesh another point and securing her a 3-2 victory. The 29-year-old wrestler spent considerable time away from the mat last year after leading protests against Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan, the former head of the Wrestling Federation of India, whom she accused of sexual misconduct. Vinesh is competing for the first time in the 50 kg category; She had competed in the 53 kg category before।
lead:
Vinesh did not allow Susaki to gain a hold in the first minute। However, Susaki managed to take the lead in the second minute. Vinesh responded brilliantly to Susaki’s attacks with her strong defense. Even in the second round, Susaki couldn’t break through Vinesh’s defense, but she managed to gain a point and took a 2-0 lead. Vinesh saved her best for the last few seconds, but her sudden aggressive approach left the Japanese wrestler with no time to respond।
After that, Vinesh secured her place in the semifinals by defeating Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the quarterfinal match. She defeated the eighth-seeded Ukrainian wrestler with a score of 7-5. In the first round, Vinesh took a 2-0 lead against Oksana, and then extended her lead to 4-0 at the beginning of the second round. Oksana tried to make a comeback by scoring points and managed to narrow Vinesh’s lead to two points (5-3).
Vinesh felt exhausted at that point and asked her coach to question the decision। But after watching the video, the referee rejected the challenge, and Vinesh had to suffer another point loss। However, she had a few seconds to recharge। Following that, Vinesh pushed the Ukrainian fighter out of bounds to score two more points, increasing her lead to 7-4। Oksana got a point more, but it wasn’t enough to stop Vinesh।