Vinesh Phogat has become the first Indian woman wrestler to enter the Olympic finals after beating Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-final. She is now only one win away from ensuring her maiden Olympic medal. 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.
Bajrang, an Olympic medallist, on Tuesday, posted a strong comment on X after Vinesh entered the semi-finals. He reminded people of what Vinesh had to endure during the protests. " This girl was kicked and crushed in her own country. This girl was dragged on the streets in her country This girl is going to conquer the world but she lost to the system in this country," Bajrang Punia wrote in a post on X.
Brij Bhushan stepped aside late last year after helming the WFI for 12 years. Moreover, BJP dropped him, the six-time MP, as a candidate for the Lok Sabha polls 2024.
Earlier, Vinesh entered the semifinals on the back of two incredible wins, against reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan and Ukraine's eighth seed Oksana Livach on a memorable day for the combative Indian grappler. She faced a quarter-final exit in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 editions.
READ | Paris Olympics 2024: Vinesh Phogat enters final, becomes first Indian woman wrestler to do
