KARACHI: Vinesh Phogat has become the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic wrestling final, ensuring at least a silver medal in the women's 50kg event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Vinesh, 29, kicked off her journey with a major victory over reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan. She then defeated former European champion Oksana Livach of Ukraine in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-final, Vinesh faced Pan-American champion Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba. The match started defensively, with Vinesh gaining an early lead due to Yusneylis’s passivity. 

In the second period, Vinesh secured her win with two decisive takedowns, finishing with a 5-0 score.

This achievement is especially significant given Vinesh’s past Olympic challenges. 

In Rio 2016, she was a strong contender but suffered a serious injury. At Tokyo 2020, she missed out on a medal while managing another injury. 

Despite these setbacks and her involvement in the wrestlers' protest leading up to Paris 2024, Vinesh made history.

Vinesh joins Sakshi Malik as the only other Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal — Malik won bronze at Rio 2016.

On Wednesday, Vinesh will compete for the gold medal against either USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, or Mongolia’s Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal, a three-time world championships medalist.