New Delhi: Ace India wrestler Vinesh Phogat is going to be one of India’s best bets for medal glory in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Phogat started off the year 2021 with a gold medal at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, in Rome. The world number 1 wrestler will look to continue her dominance in the 53kg freestyle category of the Tokyo Olympics.
The 26-year-old was raised in Balali, a village in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri district. She became a household after winning gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in 2018 and followed it up by finishing third at the 2019 world championships. Phogat rose to fame with her first major international gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She continued her glorious run that year in Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea, with another gold medal in the 48kg category. Also Read - Brisbane Wins Right to Host 2032 Olympics
Her achievements were also recognized by the sports authority as she won the Arjuna Award in 2016 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2020. Phogat also clinched gold medals at Asian Championship (April) and Poland Open (June) this year leading up to the Tokyo Olympics.
The 26-year-old will face a tough challenge from Mayu Mukaida, Luisa Valverde and Qianyu Pang in the quest to earn glory in Tokyo.
“I now have the experience of playing one Olympics. I know what to expect, how to prepare and how to conduct myself,” Phogat told the Times of India.
Recalling her setback in the 2016 Rio Olympics where she picked up a career-threatening knee injury in the quarterfinal that needed surgery and five months of rehabilitation, Phogat said, “All these setbacks helped me become stronger and I feel I enter Tokyo as a much stronger athlete mentally. I want to finish what I have started.”