“The talk of the wrestling world,” was how Vinesh Phogat was introduced when she walked into the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris for her Olympic semi-final bout. Vinesh reached a milestone no other Indian female wrestler has achieved: a final at the Olympic Games. She accomplished this feat by defeating Yui Susaki, who had remained unbeaten in international bouts until Tuesday. The 50kg wrestler, with steely determination shining in her eyes, orchestrated one of the greatest upsets in Olympic wrestling history. Playing a tactically brilliant game, she handed Yui Susaki her first defeat, making it 82-1 for Susaki. After a hard-fought quarter-final against Ukraine’s Oksana Livach, she breezed through her semi-final bout, winning it 5-0 and securing a place in the Olympic final, much to the delight of a nation that had witnessed heartbreaking near-misses over the last few days.
“Kal Baat Karenge (Let’s talk tomorrow),” she said in a fleeting chat with the reporters at the venue, acknowledging the love of the crowd at the arena. She had spoken enough with her performances over three electrifying rounds on Tuesday. She fought for the tri-color, she fought for redemption, and she fought for all those she stood up for last year. India’s daughter did all these with grit, grace, and a steely determination that, at one point in her career, had deserted her.
While the Yui Susakis, the Sarah Ann Hildebrandts, and the Gusman Lopezes were gearing up for the Paris Olympics, competing at the highest level and building momentum last year, Vinesh Phogat was at Jantar Mantar, sleeping on the streets of India’s capital, New Delhi, fighting for her fellow wrestlers against former Indian wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers.
For nearly 15 months, Vinesh did not fight on the mat. She fought off it.
