Paris (France): India's Vinesh Phogat scripted a stunning upset on Tuesday with a 3-2 win over Japan's defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki in the round of 16 fixture of the women's 50kg wrestling category at the Paris 2024 Games.
Phogat started her match in a calm manner against a high-profile opponent who was unbeaten in the international circuit before the start of the match. In the follow-up, Vinesh lost a couple of passivity points and trailed by 0-2 for the majority of the clash. The time was ticking fast with the Japanese opponent leading the match by 2-0. Just when a defeat looked inevitable, Vinesh pulled of a takedown with 20 seconds to spare in the thrilling clash. Vinesh's campaign in the previous two Olympics in 2016 and 2020 were underwhelming as she finished at 10th and ninth respectively.
Vinesh will now face Ukraine's Oksana Livach in the quarter-final later this evening. Livach had clinched the 50kg bronze medal in the 2018 world championships. Also, she has a gold at the 2019 European Championships.
Susaki had won gold at the Tokyo Olympics without dropping any single point throughout the campaign. She has lost only five bouts since 2010 and also won the world championship gold in 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023.
