Commonwealth Games 2022 wrestling: Vinesh Phogat completes a hat-trick of CWG gold medals
Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat won the gold medal in the women’s 53kg freestyle wrestling category at Birmingham 2022.
Vinesh Phogat added yet another gold medal to India's tally at the Commonwealth Games 2022 by clinching the top podium finish in the women’s 53kg event on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Vinesh Phogat entered Birmingham 2022 as a two-time champion and ensured her third straight CWG gold after going undefeated. She had won the 48kg gold at Glasgow 2014 and the 50kg division at Gold Coast 2018.
With only four wrestlers in the women’s 53kg division at Birmingham, the medals were decided through a single-phase Nordic Group system, in which all the wrestlers faced each other once. The group topper after the sequence of matches won the gold while the second and third placed grappler took silver.
World championships 2021 bronze medallist Samantha Stewart, Nigeria’s Mercy Bolafunoluwa Adekuoroye and Sri Lanka’s Chamodya Keshani Maduravalage Don were the other wrestlers competing in the division.
Mercy is the younger sister of three-time Commonwealth Games champion Odunayo Adekuoroye, who beat Vinesh’s compatriot Anshu Malik on Friday to pocket the women’s 57kg gold.
In her first bout against Samantha Stewart, probably Vinesh’s biggest challenge in the division, the Indian grappler struck early as she caught the Canadian in a headlock and converted it to a pin to win the match by fall. The bout lasted around 30 seconds.
The second bout against Adekuoroye saw the Indian on the mat for the full six minutes to eke out a 6-0 win. The victory meant Vinesh already had one hand on the gold medal.
In what was a matter of formality, Vinesh Phogat completed the clean sweep, beating Chamodya Keshani Maduravalage Don by fall to end the tournament with a flawless record.
It was a welcome win for the Indian wrestler, who had a disappointing outing at the Tokyo Olympics and crashed out in the quarter-finals. She has been struggling with form and fitness since then.
"This is a new experience," Vinesh said. "The athletes are going through many things and many emotions. Sometimes we break down and sometimes we are happy, so every medal is special.
"This is more special because my last year at the Olympics was not good and I needed a boost for the next two years, so this is great," the Indian added.
Samantha Stewart bagged the silver medal after beating Mercy in the final second of their bout.