The ace Indian defeated the defending Pan-American champion 5-0. With her triumph, Phogat secured a medal finish for India, as she competed for gold in the final. Vinesh Phogat is one step closer to immortal Olympic glory after defeating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez on Tuesday to attend the Women’s 50kg Freestyle final in Paris.
With her victory, Phogat secures a medal finish for India and becomes the first Indian female wrestler to challenge for gold in an Olympic final. Both wrestlers began the battle quietly, wrestling away at each other but doing it slowly and carefully so as not to give up any cheap points early on.
However, a minute into the bout, Phogat achieved a breakthrough by knocking down the Cuban Guzman, but could not secure any points.
The couple engaged in a grapplefest, with Guzman receiving a 30-second shot clock for passivity, and Vinesh holding her position to score the opening point of the match.
Guzman continued to target Phogat’s legs, but neither the Cuban nor the Indian found any room to steal points, and both wrestlers headed into the halftime break with Phogat up 1-0.
Phogat was struck with a passive shot clock as she entered action for the remainder of the period. But, unlike Guzman, Phogat burst, pinning the Cuban at will to take four more points, increasing her lead to 5-0 with less than a minute remaining. Guzman’s attempts were unsuccessful, giving Phogat a flawless victory.
Phogat, who has been embroiled in controversy for the last year, got off to a flying start at the Paris Olympics, defeating defending world champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the first round of the Women’s 50kg Freestyle category.
Her victory also represented the top-seeded Japanese Susaki’s first loss on international circuits, as she had not conceded a single point on her way to her hold at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
On Tuesday, Phogat continued her fairytale run at the Paris Olympics, defeating Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the quarterfinals of the 50kg Women’s Freestyle event. Phogat demonstrated her skill and vigilance by carefully dismantling Livach 7-5 to secure her berth in the semifinals.
