India's star female wrestler Vinesh Phogat will be returning home from the Tokyo Olympics without a medal.
Earlier today, the 53kg wrestler was defeated in the quarter-final by Belarus' Vanesa Kaladzinskaya leaving her with only a chance of a medal through repechage. However, Kaladzinskaya has been defeated in the semi-final by China's Oianyu Pang which means Vinesh too is out of medal contention.
Starting her campaign on Thursday, Vinesh had won her opening bout 7-1 with ease against Sweden's Sofia Magdalena Mattsson who was the bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics.
Tokyo Olympics: Vinesh during her quarter-final bout against Belarus' Vanesa Kaladzinskaya
(Photo: PTI)
The 28-year-old Vanesa was the first one to go on the offensive. She started off with a two-pointer and took a 5-2 lead at the end of the first period.
In the second period, Vinesh got a leg hold and tried to get the back of her opponent. But Vanesa made a strong defence and scored two points on the counter. A successful review from Vinesh saw the score reverted from 7-2 to 5-3.
Vanesa got around Vinesh again, taking two points. In her last move, Vanesa got Vinesh on the mat and pinned her shoulders down to win the match by fall. It brought the match to an end where Vinesh had no answer to Vanesa's attacks and relentless pressure.
Anshu Malik's Campaign Also Ends
The other Indian female wrestling in competition on Thursday, Anshu Malik lost to Valeria Koblova of the Russian Olympic Committee in the repechage bout of the 57kg category, ending her campaign.
Anshu had lost to Iryna Kurachkina of Belarus in the pre-quarterfinal bout on Wednesday and with her victor reaching the final, Anshu got a shot at a chance to play for the bronze.
But Valeria Koblova proved too strong for Anshu as she emerged the 5-1 winner.
The Russian wrestler started well and won a point and though Anshu levelled the score at 1-1, Valeria could not be denied as she won the bout played on Mat B at the Makuhari Messe Hall.
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