Tokyo 2020, Wrestling: Vinesh Phogat to face Rio bronze medallist Sofia Mattsson in opener

Tokyo, August 4: Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was on Wednesday (August 4) drawn to face Rio 2016 bronze medallist Sofia Mattsson in the women's freestyle 53kg opener at the the Tokyo Olympics.

Top seeded Vinesh, who exited the Rio Olympics in the quarterfinal round five years ago, will look to go all the way when she begins her Tokyo 2020 campaign on Thursday (August 5).

The 26-year-old Indian has beaten the veteran Swede and European Champion Mattsson in the only meeting between the two wrestlers so far.

If she wins the 1/8 Final against Mattsson, Vinesh could be up against Bulgaria's Vanesa Kaladzinskaya or Andreea Ana in the 1/4 Final.

And in the semi-final, her opponent could be either the winner of USA's Jacarra Winchester vs ROC's Olga Khoroshavtseva or China's Pang Qianyu vs Cuba's Laura Herin Avila.

Tokyo 2020: Wrestlers Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia reach semis as Anshu Malik bows out

In her possible opponents in the rounds after the 1/8 Final, Vinesh has only faced Pang, winning two and losing two in their 4 meetings.

In case she reaches the final, Vinesh could potentially face Japan's Mayu Mukaida, who she has failed to beat in three attempts. However, Vinesh will be confident going into the Tokyo 2020 Games as she has won three gold medals in as many events in 2021.

So far in the Tokyo Olympics, Indian wrestlers Deepak Punia and Ravi Dahiya have reached the semifinals of men's freestyle 86 kg and 57 kg category respectively.

Tokyo 2020: Wrestlers Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia reach semis as Anshu Malik bows out

Second-seeded Deepak defeated Nigeria's Ekerekeme Agiomor and China's Zushen Lin to reach the last 4, while fourth-seeded Ravi defeated Colombia's Oscar Eduardo Tigreros Urbano and Bulgaria's Georgi Vangelov to reach the semifinal.

Earlier on Wednesday (August 4), 19-year-old Anshu Malik lost her 57 kg women's freestyle 1/8 Final, but has a bronze medal chance as she will enter the repechage round, where the young Indian will face ROC's Valeria Koblova.

Youngster Sonam Malik bowed out of the games after 1/8 Final defeat in the 62 kg women's freestyle category.

Meanwhile, Bajrang Punia and Seema Bisla are yet to take part in the Games with their bouts being scheduled for Friday (August 6).