Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Saturday confirmed another ticket for India at the 2024 Paris Olympics in women's 50kg category via a dominant performance at the Asian Olympic Qualifier where she reached the final without conceding a single point. (More Sports News)
The finalists at the competition are being awarded quotas for the Paris Olympics.
Phogat, alongside Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, was at the forefront of the protests against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in connection to the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by some women wrestlers.
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This was her first outing since the protests against Singh broke out with top names at the helm of it.
2024 Paris Olympics will be Vinesh's third consecutive entry into the prestigious summer games after Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
The 29-year-old was at her dominant best winning bouts without conceding even a point.
The opening round saw Vinesh get the better of Miran Cheon in just one minute and 39 seconds.
The next bout was an even shorter one where the Indian downed Cambodia's Smanang Dit in just 67 seconds to move to the semifinals.
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In the semifinal, 19-year-old Kazakh wrestler Laura Ganikyzy gave Phogat some fight but the Indian wrestler emerged triumphant, booking another spot for India at the Olympics.
Phogat gave this exceptional performance on her return to international wrestling after a knee injury that required a surgery had forced her out of action.
Vinesh, who usually fights in the 53kg category, had to shift to the 50kg division after Antim Panghal had earned a quota in the 53kg group at the World Championships last year.
India secured two more berths in the Paris Games as Anshu Malik also booked a spot in what would become her second successive Olympics in the women's 57kg category while U23 world champion Reetika got another spot in the women's 76kg division.
