'Bring glory for the country' - Social media reacts as Vinesh Phogat reaches SFs at Paris Olympics 2024

Vinesh Phogat qualified for Paris 2024 via the Asian wrestling qualifiers.

Fans online have reacted to Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s stellar performance in two initial rounds of Paris Olympics 2024. The Indian grappler will face Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzmán in the semi-final of the women’s freestyle 50kg wrestling category later in the day.

Vinesh Phogat earned the Olympic quota earlier this year during the Asian wrestling qualifiers. Phogat also made several changes in her lifestyle and workout regime to compete in the women’s freestyle 50 kg category at the Olympics, which is not her preferred weight bracket.

Earlier today, she faced the 2020 Tokyo gold medalist Yui Susaki of Japan in her first match at the Paris Games. The Japanese grappler tried crafting multiple attacks throughout the game against Vinesh Phogat. However, the 29-year-old managed to stay compact and resisted the aggression.

Interestingly, Vinesh was trailing by two points throughout the match but in the last few seconds, she managed to change the fate of the fixture. She completed a two-point move over Susaki in the dying second. Later, she was awarded one more point for a failed challenge from the Japanese front.

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With the triumph, she also broke Yui Susaki’s impeccable record of 82 wins and no losses. With a 3-2 win over the defending champion, the Indian wrestler secured a spot in the quarterfinals, where he faced Ukraine’s Oksana Livach, who won her first match by technical superiority.

However, she failed to get past Vinesh and ended up on the losing side in the quarterfinal fixture 7-5. Continuing her brilliant form, the Indian grappler will go head-to-head against Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzmán in the semi-final.

As soon as the 29-year-old completed her bouts, several people on social media came forward to laud Vinesh for her performance and heroics. However, most of the reactions to her win were connected to the wrestler’s protest against the former WFI chief Brijbhushan Singh.

Vinesh’s sisters, Geeta Phogat and Ritu Phogat also reacted to her victory.

Former field hockey player Viren Rasquinha, cricket batsman Dinesh Karthik and Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bajrang Punia also took to social media to admire Vinesh’s heroics in the French capital.

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