A great euphoria was followed too soon with big heartbreak for Vinesh Phogat and millions of her fans after her amazing win in the semi-final, and later, her disqualification after being declared slightly overweight for her wrestling category Wednesday.
A day earlier, Vinesh had overcome all odds to stand on the cusp of making Olympic history as the three-time Olympian from Haryana entered the final of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
She was to fight for gold in the Paris Olympics after making her way there in style, beating Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba in the semifinal with aplomb to win 5-0.
Earlier, her extraordinary triumph had capped a day that kicked off with a stunning upset as she beat reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki – she has been beaten only three times in her career – and then Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the quarterfinal.
She also holds the record of being the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold at the Commonwealth and Asian Games. She is also the only Indian woman wrestler to win multiple medals at the World Wrestling Championships.
Phogat was the first Indian athlete nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards in 2019.
With inputs from agencies/media reports/Picture sourced from Facebook posts/social media
