With eyes fixed on the Tokyo Olympics, Indian grappler Vinesh Phogat is steadily making her moves stronger as she bagged her third consecutive gold in women's 53kg category after winning the Poland Open wrestling tournament in Warsaw. The 24-year-old scored 3-2 over local wrestler Roksana in the final of the competition.
On her way to the final, Vinesh had earlier silenced Sofia Mattson of Sweden, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist, in the quarterfinals of this international tournament. Vinesh had her game face on from the very beginning as she stood atop the podium at Grand Prix of Spain and at the Yasar Dogu International at Istanbul, Turkey, last month with two golds.
The star wrestler is the first Indian ever – man or woman – to be nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Award
“The biggest positives from wrestling against strong opponents are it forces me out of my comfort zone, makes me push my limits, and teaches important lessons! Happy with my performance at the #PolandOpen. Excited by this start as a 53 kg wrestler, now onwards and upwards,” India’s gold medallist in the Asiad and Commonwealth Games,Vinesh, who is one of India’s medal hopefuls at the 2020 Tokyo Games, tweeted.
“As always, thank you to everyone out there for the constant stream of good wishes, love, and support A big thank you to my coach Woller Akos, physio Rucha, @IndiaSports, @FederationWrest, and @OGQ_India,” she added.
Former national hockey captain Viren Rasquinha, who is also involved with Olympic Gold Quest, congratulated Vinesh on her success saying, “Congrats @Phogat_Vinesh as she wins the gold medal beating the local girl 3-2 in the final of the Poland Open. This is Vinesh’s third consecutive gold in 53kgs after Spain and Turkey. Well done @Media_SAI, #TOPS and #WFI. We are proud to support this champion Vinesh @OGQ_India.”
Prior to these, Vinesh had bagged Asian Championship and Dan Kolov bronze and silver respectively in the 53kg category.
In 2019, the star wrestler from the famous Phogat family bagged silver at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov. The year 2018 too was the young wrestler’s year. She clinched the gold medal in the 50 kg freestyle at the Asian Games in Jakarta and become the first Indian woman wrestler to do so. Avenging a heart-breaking loss at the Olympics two years ago, she also won gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, silver in the 2018 Asian Championships in Bishkek.
READ: Navjot Kaur – First Indian Woman Wrestler To Clinch Asian Gold
“I will be competing in the 53 kg category this year and possibly at the World Championships and Olympics as well if I qualify. It is a decision that my coach Woller Akos and me have taken after a lot of thought. Let’s see how it goes,” Vinesh told Scroll.in.
Before heading off to the Asian Games, she has bagged gold at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid this July. Vinesh won the gold medal in the women’s freestyle 53 kg category and dominated the stage, conceding just one point in five bouts.
Picture credit: TOI
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