In her opening match, Vinesh Phogat pulled off a colossal upset against the reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan.
In the semi-final, both Vinesh and Yusneylis started defensively but the Indian wrestler was awarded a point for Yusneylis’s passivity and ended the first period with a slender one-point lead.
Both wrestlers continued to be on guard at the start of the second period. However, Vinesh, in danger of conceding a point on passivity, executed two takedowns to lead 5-0. Vinesh held on to her lead in the final 30 seconds to make it the final of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
On Wednesday, Vinesh will take on USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist for the gold medal.
Earlier, Phogat, who had to cut down weight to compete in the 50kg category for Paris 2024, registered the biggest win of her career by defeating Yui Susaki 3-2 in the opening round.
Yui Susaki, a three-time world champion in the 50kg category, was unbeaten in international competitions with an 82-0 record before losing to Vinesh. The Japanese wrestler is also a former world champion in the 48kg and a two-time Asian champion.
Vinesh displayed a strategic and patient approach throughout her bout against Yui Susaki. The Japanese wrestler launched aggressive attacks from the start but Vinesh expertly dodged each move with remarkable speed. Vinesh was penalised for passivity but trailing only 1-0 against the reigning Olympic champion by the end of the first period was a positive outcome.
