India’s Vinesh Phogat ousted from Tokyo Olympics wrestling in quarter-finals

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat lost to Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya by fall in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics women’s 53kg category quarter-finals on Thursday.

Up against Vanesa Kaladzinskaya, a two-time European and world champion, Vinesh Phogat made a cautious start at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba.

Kaladzinskaya was the first to strike, with a two-pointer and proceeded to extend it into a 5-2 lead heading into the second period.

Vinesh Phogat went on the offensive early in the second period, but some tenacious defending by the Belarusian seemed to have fended the Indian off and made the score 7-2 in Kaladzinskaya’s favour.

However, a successful review from Vinesh’s camp saw the score reverted to 5-3.

Vinesh, though, couldn’t hold onto the lifeline as Vanesa Kaladzinskaya scored two more points and finished off the match with a victory by fall by pinning Vinesh to the mat.

With Vanesa Kaladzinskaya losing to China’s Pang Qianyu in the final seconds of the semi-finals, Vinesh Phogat’s hopes of a shot at bronze through repechage also ended.

The repechage rule allows wrestlers who have lost early in the competition a second chance, should their victor make it to the final.

The repechage rule allows wrestlers who have lost early in the competition a second chance, should their victor make it to the final.

Vinesh Phogat began her Tokyo Olympics campaign with a victory over Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson, a bronze medallist from Rio 2016, in the round of 16.

The 26-year-old Vinesh Phogat, who beat Mattsson 13-0 in their only previous meeting at the 2019 world championships, looked confident as she started her opening bout of Tokyo 2020.

Though the Swede seemed to be on the offensive early on, Vinesh Phogat instantly turned the tables and went 4-0 up.

The Indian kept chipping away at her opponent with brilliant counter-attacks and comfortably wrapped up the match by a 7-1 margin.