Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat made the nation proud by assuring a medal in the Olympics by defeating Yusneylys Guzman in the 50 kg freestyle wrestling event and making it to the event's final. She also became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the finals of women’s wrestling in the Olympics, as she will now compete for the gold medal after securing at least a silver medal.
Following her win, Rahul Gandhi took to social media to congratulate her achievement. In his message, he said, “After defeating the top three wrestlers of the world in a single day, today the whole country along with Vinesh is emotional. All those who denied the struggle of Vinesh and her teammates, even questioned their abilities, got their answers. Today, the entire system of power which made India shed tears of blood was shattered in front of the brave daughter of India. This is the identity of champions, they give their answer from the field. Best wishes Vinesh. The echo of your success in Paris is head till Delhi.”
Several other politicians like Akhilesh Yadav, Yogi Adityanath and Mansukh Mandaviya also took on social media to congratulate her for the victory and wished her for the finals.
The 29-year-old was a leading face in the protests against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh last year.
Vinesh 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 and Sakshi Malik.
