Paris (France): Ace India wrestler Vinesh Phogat has qualified for the semi-final bout in the women's 50kg event and is just a win away from assuring a medal for the country in the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics on Tuesday. She defeated Ukraine's Oksana Livanch, a former European champion and 2018 world championship bronze-medallist, 7-5 in the quarterfinal bout, which turned out to be a cliffhanger clash.
This victory came a few after her opening bout emphatic victory against Japan's Yiu Susaki, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and someone who has never lost an international match in her career, to cause the biggest wrestling upset of the ongoing Summer Games. Susaki had a track record of 82-0 before the start of her Paris Games campaign.
Vinesh, who made the quarterfinal exit, represented the country in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics and had failed to win a medal in her two previous Olympic appearances. She made the Round of 16 exit in the Rio Games while failing to make the semi-final after suffering a defeat in the quarterfinal.