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Wrestling

Vinesh Phogat's outstanding journey to Tokyo Olympics from setbacks of Rio 2016

The girl from the Phogat family is the biggest medal hope for India after her glorious run of four events, four golds entering into the Tokyo Olympics

Vinesh Phogats outstanding journey to Tokyo Olympics from setbacks of Rio 2016
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By

Kalptaru Agarwal

Updated: 3 Aug 2021 6:09 AM GMT

Dangal is going to begin for India on Tuesday as all the Indian wrestlers will be aiming to achieve the Olympic dream. Having won a total of 5 medals in the game in the previous editions of the Olympics, the grapplers would tussle to increase the medal count in the sport.

One of the biggest and brightest hopes for India in Wrestling is Vinesh Phogat, the No. 1 seed at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the 53kg category. There are other athletes like Bajrang Punia, Anshu Malik and Ravi Kumar Dahiya who are prospective medallists but Vinesh stands out in the contingent and we will tell you why.

Who is Vinesh Phogat?

The 26-year old Vinesh Phogat is a female wrestler who is the first Indian to win gold in both Commonwealth and Asian Games. The proud member of the Phogat family, Vinesh also holds the honor to be the first Indian to be nominated for Laureus World Sports Awards in 2019.

The Arjuna Awardee last participated at the Rio Olympics where she suffered a knee injury due to which she wasn't able to continue her Olympic dream.

Why 2021 is the best year for Vinesh?

Though losing her debut Olympics due to the injury, she has come back stronger and more powerful. This 2021 season proved to be a consistent run of victories for her.

4 events and 4 golds, yes you read that right, she has been on this dream win series and is now hoping to turn it into 5 with the ultimate glory. So, which all event has she won in this year, let's find out.

Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial Tournament 2021

The first competition for Vinesh after the coronavirus halted the proceedings started with a bang as Phogat defeated the world champion of 2017 Vanesa Kaladzinskay to win the tournament held in Kiev. Her agility and sharp turns were visible on the court as she maintained a dominant performance in the match.

Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021

The highlight of this tournament was that Vinesh did not lose a single point during the course of this event. Winning her second gold medal with a dominant performance, she achieved the world's number one rank post the tournament. She outperformed Canada's Diana Mary Helen Weicker by 4-0.

Asian Championship 2021

You hear dominance, we hear Vinesh Phogat as she won the Asian Championship without conceding a point once again in 2021. She defeated Chinese Taipei's Meng Hsuan Hsieh to clinch her maiden Asian title.

Poland Open Wrestling tournament 2021

Vinesh Phogat got the better of Khrystyna Bereza in the women's 53kg final by 8-0 as she won the title of Poland Open adding to her gold run to the Tokyo Olympics. Again credits to a top performance as she conceded only two-point in her journey to the finals.

The top three contenders at the Tokyo Olympics will be Vinesh Phogat, Qianyu Pang of China and Mayu Mukaida of Japan but the eyes of every Indian fan will be stuck on Phogat as she fights for the Olympics Glory.

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