Charkhi Dadri, August 6
Legendary Indian wrestler Mahavir Phogat expressed optimism that her niece Vinesh Phogat will fulfil his dream of winning a gold medal for her country.
Phogat made it to the semifinals of the women's 50 kg freestyle category at the ongoing Paris Olympics after she secured a win in the quarterfinals over Ukraine's Oksana Livach on Tuesday. Phogat defeated Oksana by 7-5 and now is just one more win away from a confirmed medal.
Speaking to ANI, Mahavir said, "The country had great expectations from her during the 2016 and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But this time, I am very confident that Vinesh will fulfill my dream of a gold medal. She defeated a top Japanese wrestler in the first round."
"I focused on the match against the Japanese wrestler, who did a lot of leg attacks. I had told her to fight defensively in the first round and she did that. In the next round, she showcased her talent and power," he added.
In the QFs, Vinesh took a lead of 2-0 in the first period. However, Oksana managed to deliver a fight in the second period. But Vinesh, the World Championships medalist held off the challenge from Ukrainian and secured a semifinal berth.
Vinesh's next opponent will be either Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, a Pan American Games champion, or Gabija Dilyte of Lithuania in the semifinals starting from 10:25 PM IST.
The ace Indian wrestler delivered a brilliant start to her Paris Olympics campaign as she defeated the top seed and the Tokyo 2020 champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the women's 50kg freestyle round of 16 match on Tuesday.
Susaki was leading 1-0 at the end of the first period, but Vinesh made a brilliant turnaround in the second period, outdoing her Japanese opponent by miles to secure a 3-2 win to make way to QFs.
Yui is not only the defending champion but also a three-time world champion in the 50 kg freestyle category and the current Asian level champion.
Nisha Dahiya's Paris Olympics campaign met an unfortunate end as she succumbed to North Korea's Pak Sol Gum in the quarterfinals of the women's 68 kg competition on Monday.
Dahiya faced a 8-10 lost to Sol Gum. At one point, she was leading by 8-2, but she faced an injury and had to take some medical timeouts. Sol Gum took a full advantage of her opponent's injury and made a comeback which was just good enough to help her win the match.
In the round of 16, Nisha defeated Tetiana Sova by 6-4 at the Champs de Mars Arena. Nisha could just make it to the quarterfinals in her debut Olympics.