Vinesh Phogat has done it. Wrestling her third match of the day, the 29-year-old wrestler assured India its fourth medal of the Paris Olympics 2024 – and the best of the Games so far, getting assured of a historic silver medal at least by beating Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba 5-0 in the women's 50 kg freestyle wrestling semifinal.
Historic, because no other Indian female wrestler in the past has won anything other than a bronze – the last being Sakshi Malik at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Phogat, however, is not done. She has the opportunity to now gun for the top prize, which if achieved, will make her the first ever Indian wrestler to win a gold at the Olympics.
Both wrestlers started off watchfully, cautiously engaging and each trying to gauge the other's strategy. Vinesh adopted a patient approach reminiscent of her tactics against the formidable Yui Susaki of Japan. When the clock expired, Vinesh took a slim 1-0 lead with just a minute remaining in the first round.
In the second round, Vinesh initiated an attack on Lopez's right leg but failed to capitalise, resulting in her own passivity clock starting. With only 30 seconds to make a move, the pressure was mounting. Then, in a stunning turn of events, Vinesh powerfully flipping Lopez over and earning two points. This move propelled her to a commanding five-point lead. After a minute and a half, Vinesh had cemented her place in the annals of Indian wrestling greats, guaranteeing the country's best medal finish of the Paris 2024 Games.
Earlier in the day, Vinesh created waves at the Paris Games by executing a flawless strategy to defeat the seemingly unbeatable Susaki, advancing to the women's 50kg semifinal and edging closer to an Olympic medal. Susaki, the Tokyo gold medallist and four-time World Champion, had an unbroken streak of 82 international wins but was left stunned by Vinesh's tactical prowess, leading to a 2-3 loss in the opening bout.
