Vinesh Phogat scripted history on Tuesday, August 6, when she became the first female Indian wrestler to reach an Olympic final at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 when she defeated Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman by 5-0 in the semi-final match. Vinesh will now fight for the gold medal against USA's Sarah Hildebrandt in the final in the late night on Wednesday, August 7.
As the 29-year-old was a leading face in the protests against the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh last year, Kangana Ranaut took a jibe at the Indian wrestler after her historic win. She shared a photo of Vinesh on her Instagram Stories and credited her victory to the 'great leader' Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Fingers crossed for India's first Gold Medal...Vinesh Phogat at one point took parts in protests where she raised the slogans of "Modi teri kabr khudegi". Yet she was given the opportunity to represent the nation and best of the training, coaches, and facilities. Beauty of democracy and a great leader", wrote the multiple National Award-winner. Kangana is now a BJP MP after winning the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 general elections.
Vinesh Phogat was one of the three top wrestlers, who led a protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing women wrestlers. Other wrestlers who stood alongside her were Bajrang Punia, who won the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics, and Sakshi Malik, who became the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics when she clinched the bronze medal at the 2016 edition.
Earlier on Tuesday, Vinesh had secrured two back-to- back incredible wins to reach the semi-finals. In the Round of 16, she defeated the reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan and beat Ukraine's eighth seed Oksana Livach in the quarter-final match. She had faced a quarter-final exit in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 editions. Vinesh is also the first Indian woman to have won gold at both Commonwealth and Asian Games.
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