Wrestler Vinesh Phogat wins Gold at Poland Open
Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat proved that her preparations for the Tokyo Games were on track by winning the 53kg gold at the Poland Open in Warsaw on Friday, giving herself some crucial 'mat-time' ahead of the Olympics. It is the third title of the season for the athlete, who claimed gold medals at the Matteo Pellicone (March) and Asian Championship (April) earlier.
She won 8-0 against Khrystyna Bereza of Ukraine
Vinesh did not concede a single point to Ukraine's Khrystyna Bereza in the final, winning 8-0. Vinesh took most of her points through double-leg attacks while the 2019 European silver medalist Khrystyna was on the defensive throughout.
Ekaterina Poleschuk gave tough fight to Vinesh in opening bout
Except for her opening bout against 2019 World bronze (50kg) winner Ekaterina Poleshchuk from Russia, Vinesh wasn't troubled by any of her other rivals as she conceded only two points en route to the top place on the podium. She had to battle hard against Ekaterina before prevailing 6-2, but she needed only 75 seconds to pin America's Amy Ann Fearnside in the semifinals.
Vinesh struggled against her Russian opponent's strong defense
It was a tough start for Vinesh as she was up against Ekaterina, whose defense was pretty strong. Vinesh went for a left-leg attack but the Russian took the Indian down on the counter for a 2-0 lead which she maintained throughout the first period. Moments before the break, Vinesh initiated another move but could not complete it.
Ekaterina committed a technical violation handing Vinesh two points
Early in the second period, Vinesh had Russian in trouble with a double leg attack as she leveled the score and then got two more points when Ekaterina committed a technical violation and was cautioned. Vinesh completed the win with one more take-down move.
Vinesh had registered an easy win in the second round
It was a comfortable win in the next round, though, as Vinesh pinned her American opponent in just 75 seconds. She was leading 6-0 at that time. Notably, Anshu Malik pulled out of the 57kg competition due to fever. She was in isolation as a precautionary measure and her COVID-19 test report is awaited.
