Meet Vinesh Phogat, first Indian woman wrestler to enter Olympic finals

Vinesh Phogat, an Indian wrestler, had an incredible start to her campaign. She defeated Yui Susaki, the current Olympic champion, to go to the quarterfinals, and then she defeated Oksana Livach, a 7-5 winner, to reach the women's 50kg freestyle semifinals. After defeating Guzmán in the semifinals, she becomes the first Indian woman to advance to the final.

Phogat was born in Bhiwani, Haryana, on August 25, 1994. Her family is well-known for their wrestling prowess throughout the nation. She was very young when his father passed away. All six of her cousins have represented India in wrestling. She and her sister Priyanka were raised by their uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat, who also taught wrestling to his four daughters, Geeta, Babita, Sangeeta, and Ritu. At seven years old, she began wrestling. 

Phogat told The Week in an interview in January 2020, "I was good at wrestling but I wasn't too keen on pursuing it. He (Mahavir) wanted an Olympic medal. We did not even know what that was. We used to wonder, 'Who is this Olympics?' We just wanted the Olympics to show up fast so that we could get a break from my uncle's strict training" 

At the Commonwealth and Asian Games, Phogat became the first female wrestler from India to win a gold medal. Phogat won the silver medal in the freestyle 51 kg category at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Johannesburg in 2013 and the bronze medal in the women's 52 kg category at the Asian Wrestling Championships.

Besides being the 2021 Asian champion in the 53 kg weight class and a two-time medallist in the Asian Games (gold in 50 kg in 2018 and bronze in 48 kg in 2014), Phogat is also the three-time gold medallist in the Commonwealth Games (48 kg in 2014, 50 kg in 2018 and 53 kg in 2022).
 
She made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win multiple medals at a world wrestling championship in 2022 when she won the bronze medal in the 53kg weight class. In the weight class in 2019, she had previously taken home the bronze.