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Asian Games 2018: Vinesh Phogat clinches gold, becomes first Indian woman wrestler to win Asiad gold

India's ace female wrestler Vinesh Phogat created history after winning a gold medal in the in final of 50kg category here on Monday (August 20).

Asian Games 2018: Vinesh Phogat clinches gold, becomes first Indian woman wrestler to win Asiad gold

Jakarta, Aug 20: India's ace female wrestler Vinesh Phogat created history after winning a gold medal in the final of Women's Freestyle 50kg category event in the 2018 Asian Games here on Monday (August 20).

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat bags gold in Asian Games 2018

Vinesh defeated her Japanese counterpart Yuki Ire 6-2 to become first woman wrestler from India to clinch a gold in Asiad.

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The ace wrestler, who is a cousin of Geeta Phogat - first Indian female wrestler to win a gold at Commonwealth Games in 2010, showed great character and skills in the final. She started things on a dominating note as he took a 4-0 lead and went on to cement her domination further.

This is India's second gold medal in the quadrennial event after Bajrang Punia bagged a gold in the men's wrestling on the opening day of the 18th Asian Games.

Earlier, Vinesh exacted sweet revenge on Yanan Sun on her way to the final of a 50kg category but Sakshi Malik paid the price for being over-defensive in the 62kg wrestling.

Asian Games Special Page | Asian Games Schedule | Medal Tally

Sakshi lost her bronze medal bout to North Korea's Rim Jong Sim. It was all over within the first period as the aggressive Jong Sim piled on the attacking moves to win 12-2 by technical superiority.

Pooja qualified for the bronze medal bout but lost to Japan's Sakagami Katsuki 1-6 in 57kg freestyle. It was a tough encounter fought cautiously by both. Although Pooja was leading 1-0 in the first period, the Japanese crawled back to claim the bronze.

Pinki was the only Indian wrestler to not reach the medal round as she lost her first round bout in the 53kg category against Mongolia's Sumiya Erdenechimeg. She could not score a single point and lost her bout by technical superiority.

Sumit Malik, the last Indian remaining in the men's freestyle, bit the dust in the 125kg as he could not face his opponent even for two minutes, losing by technical superiority. The men's campaign thus finished with just one gold medal from Bajrang Punia (65kg).

Starting the day for India was Vinesh, who was up against China's Sun, against whom she had suffered the heart-breaking leg injury during the Rio Olympics. This time Vinesh did not give her opponent any chance and came out a dominant winner with a 8-2 score.

In the next bout, she brushed aside the challenge of Korea's Hyungjoo Kim by technical superiority. She ended the bout with a four-point throw. Her semifinal lasted just 75 seconds as she moved into the final with a 'fitley'. She was already up 4-0 and then rolled over her opponent thrice with leg-lock.

Sakshi, playing her first Asian Games, was hardly challenged before her semifinal as she easily won against Thailand's Salinee Srisombat (10-0) and Ayaulym Kassymova (10-0).

She was up 4-0 in her semifinal against Kyrgyzstan's Aisuluu Tynybekova but lost six points in a row by the end of first period. She led 7-6 with a throw but became too defensive while looking to hold her rival with 10 seconds to go.

The Kyrgyz took advantage and pushed Sakshi out of the mat to log match-wining two points. Pooja lost just one point on her way to the semifinals as she outclassed Thailand's Orasa Sookdongyor (10-0) and Uzbekistan's Nabira Esenbae (12-1) but lost the last-four clash on technical superiority to Korea's Myong Suk Jong.

Story first published: Monday, August 20, 2018, 19:18 [IST]
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