On Tuesday, Vinesh Phogat made history as the first female wrestler from India to advance to the Olympic finals.
In the women’s 50kg freestyle division, Vinesh Phogat did not have the most popularity. Not because, despite being the most accomplished female wrestler in India with two World Championships, three CWG, and eight Asian Championship medals, she had not yet proven herself on the biggest stage.
However, in her opening match at the Paris Olympics in 2024, she faced off against Yui Susaki, the current Olympic champion and world number one. It was widely anticipated that Vinesh would win the bronze by taking advantage of the repechage round, while Susaki would continue her undefeated record at the Games.
Vinesh, however, did not merely leave Susaki stunned, and the thousands of people glued to their respective viewing sets amazed with a spectacular 3-2 victory in the first tie. Instead, she wrote a fairly easy run to the final on Tuesday, becoming the first Indian woman to compete for the Olympic gold in wrestling.
However, Vinesh was fighting for a greater cause rather than the need to prove herself after what she had gone through since the Tokyo Olympics, particularly in the last few months, which is what inspired her to write that incredible run on Day 11 of the Paris Games.
Vinesh lost heartbreakingly “by fall” in the 53kg category quarterfinals of the Tokyo Games in 2021. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) later accused her of misconduct and suspended her for a number of alleged offenses. She thought about giving up the sport because of the unrest off the field. However, Vinesh retaliated and went on to fight the WFI chief, accusing him of having sex with someone else.
The protracted legal battle is still ongoing, but it has lost momentum. Vinesh suffered later because she was unable to qualify for the 53kg Paris cut after missing the World Championships, allowing Antim Panghal to secure that quota. Later, the 29-year-old dropped to the 50kg division to earn a spot in the Games for the third time in a row.
In the final seconds of their preliminary round match on Tuesday, Vinesh took surprise out of Susaki, causing the reigning champion to suffer her first loss in 83 fights. In the quarterfinals, he completely disregarded Oksana Livach, the 2018 European champion from Ukraine. She proved her tactical prowess once more later in the day, defeating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semifinals to guarantee herself at least a silver medal in her third Olympic competition.
But according to Vinesh, who stood by her side during the 18-month protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the medal isn’t likely to symbolize her skill on the mat and is instead a fight “for the future generation of wrestlers.”
The Tokyo Games bronze medallist Punia said in an interview with ESPN: “She told me, ‘I am fighting for the future generation of wrestlers. Not for me personally; I’m done with this Olympics career. In order to ensure that the young female wrestlers can wrestle in safety, I want to fight for them. That is the reason I came to Jantar Mantar and the reason I am here.
On Wednesday, Vinesh will compete against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt, an American, for the gold medal.
