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All You Need To Know About Vinesh Phogat!

The first Indian woman wrestler to win gold at the Asian Games.

Who is Vinesh Phogat?

She is a 23-year-old wrestler from Balali in Haryana. She is the daughter of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat’s younger brother Rajpal and the cousin of wrestlers Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari. The Bollywood film Dangal was based on her uncle and two cousins. Her cousin, Ritu Phogat, too is an international level wrestler and has won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship.

 

What did she recently win?

She defeated Japan’s Irie Yuki 6-2 to win gold in women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling thus becoming the first ever Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal at the Asian Games. Vinesh took a 4-0 lead initially before stretching it further to 6-2 to win the coveted medal. Her win was the second gold won by India in this year’s Asian Games, with the 24-year-old wrestler, Bajrang Punia, bagging the gold medal first.

 

Her other achievements?

In the 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships, she won the bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 52 kg category. That same year, at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, Vinesh finished second and won the silver medal in the women’s freestyle 51 kg category.

The next year, at the Commonwealth Games, Vinesh won the gold medal in the women’s freestyle 48 kg category. She beat Yana Rattigan of England for her first gold. That same, at the Asian Games, she won the bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 48 kg category.

 

 

In 2015, at the Asian Championships, Vinesh won the silver medal in her category after losing the final to Yuki Irie of Japan, the same opponent whom she defeated three years later.

This year, Vinesh Phogat won the gold medal in women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling at 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

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