Vinesh Phogat Scripts History to Become First-ever Indian Woman Wrestler Entering Olympic Final
A Historic Moment:- Vinesh Phogat got her name inscribed in the annals of history as she scripted becoming the first-ever Indian woman wrestler to make it to the final at the Olympic Games on a Tuesday night. Phogat did well in the freestyle 50 kg event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, beating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semis. It secured at least a silver for India in wrestling, which happens to be huge for this country in regard to movement forward in this particular sport. Now, the final is going to happen on Wednesday night, where Phogat will lock horns with the USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt, who was a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. With Phogat slated for this very match, hopes for a historic gold medal finish of the country were already on the agenda.
JOURNEY TO FINAL
The journey has been really exceptional. Vinesh has made it to the final. As if she had underlined her never-say-die spirit a bit earlier in the day while coming back to pip Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in a tough quarterfinal 7-5, it was in her earlier contest against reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the Round of 16 that best underlined her spunk. It was during that sensational contest that Phogat shocked the wrestling world by turning out victorious over Susaki, thus breaking the latter’s winning streak and pronouncing her as one of the forces to reckon with in the tournament.
This will be her third Olympics in succession, but disappointment came without allowing her to taste a medal in both the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games. At last, she proved that a person with the never-give-up quality can do it by challenging the superhuman strength and fighting all the odds at the very end.
That emotional moment for Phogat’s coach
It is eminently visible through the interaction Phogat shared with her coach, who was in tears immediately after the semi-final match. Really emoted here were hours of hard work and dedication that Phogat and the coaching staff had put in for these Olympics. Brooding often is the coach-athlete relationship at this level; it showed the sacrifices being made in the pursuit of greatness.
What has turned Phogat through to the final has been the activeness of her coach in coaching her through all the highs and lows of her wrestling career. With Phogat preparing for the final, she shall undoubtedly feel the encouragement and the support that she would have had from her coach.
India’s Olympic Wrestling Tradition
Now, till Phogat, India has won seven Olympic medals in wrestling; with Sakshi Malik, the only female wrestler ever from the country to win an Olympic medal when she won a bronze at Rio 2016. Vinesh is going to celebrate this as a career-defining victory, but at the same time, once more, this becomes one of those highly celebrated and valued milestones for the Indian female fraternity who now stand increasingly elevated in the eyes of the world, especially in wrestling.
India is currently at 60 with the won three bronze in the overall medal tally. The final that Phogat will be playing hence gives India a chance to better her standing, thus increasing the medal count of India at the Paris Games.
Conclusion
The historic achievement of Vinesh Phogat at the Paris 2024 Olympics has been a great pride for India. Now, with the final against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt, it really will be all or nothing at all. But Phogat finds herself knocking on history’s door without controversy. Getting onto that grand stage makes a huge difference in so many ways—to inspire so many, to echo a bigger rise of women in sports. She is poised to go into history books once more with a fair deal of grit and skill.
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