On Tuesday afternoon at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris, Vinesh Phogat lay on the mat after a riveting wrestling match. She had pulled off the biggest upset in the wrestling world, defeating Japan’s undefeated Yui Susaki in the final seconds of their bout.
An hour after taking out the first seeded Japanese at the Paris Olympic Games, she beat eighth seed Oksana Livach of Ukraine to secure a berth in the semi-finals of the women’s 50kg freestyle event.
In a late-night showdown, she triumphed over Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman, a Pan American gold-medalist, with a decisive 5-0 victory, securing her place in her first-ever Olympic final.
Not only is she guaranteed an Olympic medal, but she also has a chance to become the first Indian woman to win Olympic gold.
As she lay on the mat, in her moment of triumph, she ought to have remembered the last few months.
A year ago, Phogat had been wrestled to the floor by the Delhi Police. She was among the leaders of a wrestlers’ protest against former Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom they accused of intimidation and sexual harassment.
The journey from the streets of Delhi to the mat in Paris was riddled with hurdles.
She had to deal with a knee surgery, backlash from the protests, a drop down to a lower weight category…
Yet, here she was, pulling off the impossible as the four-time World Champion and reigning Olympic champion Susaki, who had never lost an international bout in her career before Tuesday, stood aghast, unaware of what hit her. Susaki had not conceded a single point en route her gold at the Tokyo Olympics. But Phogat proved to be a step above the rest.
Masterful strategy
Pre-match expectations were heavily in favour of Susaki.
Phogat began her bout with a measured approach, well aware of the exploits of her high-profile opponent.
The cautious start led to Phogat conceding a couple of passivity points, leaving her trailing 0-2 for the majority of the match.
To an outsider, Phogat’s lack of aggression and proactiveness might have seemed predictable, given that even a small opening could have allowed Susaki to take her down. But with the clock winding down, Phogat counted the seconds before making her move – her first and only aggressive foray in the match.
With only 20 seconds left, Phogat switched gears. She had spent five minutes and 40 seconds playing defensively. Suddenly she lunged forward and executed a decisive takedown, clinching a dramatic victory and depriving Susaki of a consecutive gold.
And just like that, Susaki was down with 3 seconds left to win the bout.
Phogat stood there, overcome with emotion, with her hand raised in triumph after securing a memorable 3-2 victory.
Just over an hour later, she pulled off her second win of the campaign by defeating Livach in contrasting fashion in the quarter-final. Instead of the defensive, cagey start, Phogat opted to don the aggressor’s role against the fiery Ukrainian to secure a 7-5 win on points.
Against Guzman, Phogat seemed to have an even more confident approach. She had defeated her in the opening round of the recent Grand Prix of Spain, after all. And she did it again on the big stage.
The impossible
A year ago, the idea of Vinesh Phogat competing at the Paris Olympics seemed far-fetched, given her stormy 2023.
During her protest against the WFI chief, the two-time Olympian spent 40 days sleeping on the pavements of the national capital. She was accused of being driven by malice, her motives were questioned, and her achievements were undermined throughout the protest.
An AI-generated photograph also made the rounds on social media, maligning her further.
The decorated Indian grappler faced police brutality, being beaten and dragged – a powerful and haunting image that remains vivid to this day.
As a wrestler, her bravery and resilience on the mat had been clear. But it was her perseverance and fortitude off the mat that truly defined her.
She is a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, an Asian Games gold medallist, a two-time World Championship bronze medallist. But at the Olympics, there was something missing.
So, her run at Paris is stunning, not just because of the magnitude of her wins or the tumultuous build-up to it, but simply because this is her best run in Olympics so far.
In Rio 2016, Phogat was forced to withdraw in the quarter-finals of the 48kg freestyle event due to a knee injury.
At Tokyo 2020, she faced an unexpected defeat in the quarter-finals of the 53kg freestyle event.
Now she’s one win away from becoming an Olympic medallist.
Strong on and off the mat
Other than the background of the protest, she was dealing with the inconsistencies of the selection criteria of the wrestling federation and facing stiff competition from compatriot Antim Panghal in her natural 53kg weight category.
She finally gave trials in two weight categories – 53kg and 50kg. Having lost the trial for the former, Phogat cut her weight and dropped down to the 50kg, entering the category as an unseeded competitor.
Before that, she also underwent a knee surgery and had to withdraw from the delayed Asian Games in 2023.
For Paris, when the draw was announced on the eve of the bout, it was clear that fate had dealt her a tough hand once again, pitting her against Susaki in her opening match. The repechage round was assumed to be her only hope for a medal.
But Phogat was up for the fight.
Not long ago, Phogat came close to immersing her medals in the Ganga river – a dramatic gesture born out of frustration that one of the country’s leading sports figures felt compelled to undertake in order to be heard.
Today, as she stands on the brink of making a mark with an Olympic medal in the face of adversity, it seems she has more than made her voice heard.
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