Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has stormed into the semifinals of the women's 50kg freestyle event at the Paris Olympics. The Indian grappler defeated Ukraine's Oksana Livach in her quarterfinal to make her way into the last four of the event.
Vinesh defeated the former European champion in a closely-fought quarterfinal with a score of 7-5. The Indian grappler took an early lead and kept it intact in the first round. She was leading 5-2 in the second round but the Ukrainian attacked to push Vinesh off the bounds and claim a point. Vinesh challenged it but conceded another point. She had a 5-4 lead in the final minute but then scored two more points to lead 7-4. Oksana looked to attack in the final seconds but Vinesh defended extremely well to win the match 7-5.
Vinesh has become the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the semifinal at the Olympics. While Sakshi Malik has won a bronze at the 2016 Olympics, she bagged the medal via a repechage after losing in the quarterfinals.
Vinesh had earlier stunned the defending Olympic and world champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the round of 16. Vinesh handed Susaki her first defeat in an International meet as she shocked the four-time world champion in a 3-2 win. The Indian was trailing for the entirety of the bout before the final few seconds when she unleashed her only attack and levelled it 2-2 with the advantage on her side. The Japanese challenged the decision to deny the Indian the two points. She failed in her challenge and the Indian got an extra point to win the bout 3-2.
The semifinal is also scheduled for today later in the evening. She will take on Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman in the semifinal a few hours later as she looks to book her place in the finals and fight for the gold medal. Yusneylys had earlier defeated Turkiye's Yavuz Evin in her round of 16 bout 7-6 before getting the better of Lithuania's Gabija Dilyte in the quarters.
