Vinesh Phogat became the first female Indian wrestler to qualify for the Rio Olympics 2016. Sakshi Malik too soon followed Phogat’s way and paved her way into the Olympics.
This qualification comes in as a huge relief for Phogat who was earlier disqualified from the 1st World Olympic Qualifying last month for being 400 grams overweight in her category (48 kg).
She then pleaded with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for another chance and promised that she would leave no stone unturned to ensure a place in the Olympics in her weight division at Istanbul qualifiers for the Olympics.
Phogat ensured her spot in Rio Olympics by beating Evin Demirhan of Turkey, 12-2 in the semi-finals. The top two finishers in each weight category gets a quota place at the Rio Games.
In the 58 kg category India’s Sakshi Malik defeated China’s Lan Zhang, 10-10 to make her way to the gold medal match and hence qualifying for the Rio Olympics.
(More to follow)
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