Vinesh Phogat, 29, has officially earned her third consecutive Olympic quota after competing in the Rio Games (2016) and Tokyo 2020.
In the women’s 50kg division, Vinesh Phogat looked as powerful as ever as she wrapped up her Paris Olympics quota and advanced to the Asian Olympic Qualifier final without giving up a single point on Saturday.
With Antim Panghal’s bronze medal-winning performance at the World Championships last year, she secured a quota in the 53kg category, which gives India a second spot in the Paris Games.
Vinesh, 29, has already earned her third consecutive Olympic quota after competing in the Rio Games (2016) and Tokyo 2020.
With a powerful performance, Vinesh—a well-known protestor against former WFI chairman Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh—demolished each of her rivals one by one.
As usual, Vinesh measured her Korean opponent for almost thirty seconds before seizing the one chance to defeat Miran Cheon in her first fight. After grabbing Cheon and forcing her to the canvas, she quickly terminated the fight in only one minute and forty-nine seconds.
It was challenging to escape Vinesh’s firm grip. To end the fight, the Indian used three gut wrench moves combined with one “expose.” The following fight lasted only sixty-seven seconds. Smanang Dit in Cambodia was an easy target. She was quickly pinned by Vinesh to advance to the women’s 50kg semifinal.
In the semifinals, the renowned Indian wrestler had some opposition from Laura Ganikyzy, a 19-year-old Kazakh wrestler, but she utilized her vast expertise to counterattack her opponent’s tactics.
Laura attempted two left-leg assaults, but Vinesh countered with a goal, and by the end of the first quarter, the score was 4-0. In this event, Vinesh was moved to the second period for the first time.
Vinesh easily used a series of gut-wrenching techniques to finish the fight after she gained control of Laura. Vinesh had won the selection trials and was participating in the 50kg class. Qualifying spots for the Summer Olympics in 2024 are being given to the competition’s finalists.
Anshu Malik (57 kg), Mansi Ahlawat (62 kg), and Reetika (76 kg) might help India attain three more quotas as they have advanced to the semifinals in their respective weight classes.
In the quarterfinal, Anshu, the silver medallist from the 2021 World Championship, easily defeated Kalmira Bilimbekova of Kyrgyzstan, triumphing due to her better technical skills.
Reetika, the U23 world champion, easily defeated Eunju Hwang without exerting any effort.
Reetika defeated the Korean player in the first round because to her better technical skills, and she also triumphed against Davaanasan Enkh Amar of Mongolia. Reetika jumped off to an 8-0 lead against China’s Juang Wang in the last group match, but the Chinese rallied for six consecutive points.
To the relief of the Indian camp, she made another move in the last minutes, but it was not recognized since it was beyond the allotted time.
Mansi also advanced to the round of four, needing to win just one match. She triumphed 6-4 over Irina Kuznetsova of Kazakhstan. The lone wrestler from India to fail to get to the semifinals was Nisha Dahiya (68 kg).
Nisha had to put in a lot of effort to defeat North Korean Sol Gum Pak in her first match. The Korean placed significant pressure on her opponent by putting up a good fight after the Indian had jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held it through the opening set.
Pak successfully obtained a take-down move to gain entry to the scoreboard right at the beginning of the second stanza. To increase her lead, Nisha continued to drive Pak outside, and she ultimately prevailed 8-3.
In the second round, Nisha was severely defeated by Meerim Zhumanazarova, the local favorite, despite already being worn out. Meerim pinned her after she fell behind 1–9. Nisha was largely engaged in standing wrestling and was rarely able to use any attacking maneuvers.
Nisha defeated Yelena Shalygina of Kazakhstan in the decisive round three, but she was stripped of her points after Meerim lost her last group match. The World Qualifiers in Turkey starting on May 9 will be the final opportunity to earn a spot in the Paris Games.
