Paris Olympics: Jantar Mantar just a dark memory, Vinesh has the last laugh

Remember the dark days in the history of Indian sports at the end of May 2023?

It wasn't a tournament, a championship where we showed ourselves up. It was the history that was made on the streets of the national capital, even as a new parliament building was 'consecrated'.

The telling photo of Vinesh Phogat and her sister Sangeeta being pinned down by the Delhi Police near Jantar Mantar during the wrestlers’ agitation demanding the removal of tainted Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Singh made headlines everywhere.

It looked, for a while, like Vinesh Phogat’s professional career was as good as over. And yet, like a phoenix, she has risen again in Paris on Tuesday, 6 August.

While Neeraj Chopra sealed his date with the javelin final, it is 29-year-old Vinesh who has captured the imagination of India's sports fans yet again.

In tears of joy and vindication, she lay sprawled on the mat after stunning reigning champion and gold medal favourite Yui Susaki of Japan in the women’s freestyle 50 kg, to make the quarter finals.

A few hours later, the former Commonwealth Games and Asian Games champion edged out eighth seed Oksana Livach of Ukraine 7–5 in the last-eight match, pitching herself into the reckoning for what could be a second Olympic medal for Indian women's wrestling, after Sakshi Malik's from Rio 2016. Phogat will face Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman Lopez in the semi-finals later today (6 August).

Hailed in the national medal for her prodigious talent mainly after a CWG gold exactly a decade ago, Vinesh Phogat has had her ups and downs. Despite being billed as an Olympic medal hopeful at Rio, an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury dashed her dreams there. Meanwhile, a certain section of the media and officialdom tagged her ‘indisciplined’ and temperamental. Yet, she was the only Indian woman wrestler to win multiple medals at the World Wrestling Championships, and also to become the first Indian athlete to be nominated for the Laureus Sports Awards in 2019.

The way Phogat upstaged Susaki today was a testimony to her hunger for validation and her never-say-die attitude. The reigning Olympic champion from Japan led 2–0 at first, but the Indian grappler scripted a late comeback to win 3–2.

Phogat started on the defensive, given her 25-year-old rival's reputation. Susaki has also won three world championship golds in the 50kg category, while the Indian specialises in the 53kg event. Early in the first period, the Indian even got warned for passivity, throwing a point away to Susaki. 

Susaki then tried to attack Phogat’s leg but the Indian did well to get out of the trap and both wrestlers failed to earn a point. Susaki then earned another point off Phogat's passivity, but the Indian clinched the match in the dying minutes by pinning down her opponent and winning two points. The match was tied 2–2 — until Susaki lost one more point for an unsuccessful challenge.