Vinesh reaches final of Poland Open with contrasting wins
(Sourced from PTI)
Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat proved that her preparations for the Tokyo Olympics were on track as she progressed to the 53kg final of the Poland Open with two contrasting wins. While she had to battle against 2019 World bronze winner Ekaterina Poleshchuk in her opening bout before prevailing 6-2, Vinesh needed only 75 seconds to pin her American rival Amy Ann Fearnside.
26-year-old Vinesh can now win her third gold in as many tournaments this season, having won titles in Matteo Pellicone (March) and Asian Championship (April). It was a tough start for Vinesh as she was up against Ekaterina Poleshchuk, whose defense was pretty strong. Vinesh went for a left-leg attack but the Russian took the Indian down on the counter for a 2-0 lead.
Early in the second period, Vinesh had the Russian in trouble with a double leg attack as she leveled the score and then got two more points when Ekaterina committed a technical violation and was cautioned. Vinesh completed the win with one more take-down move.
It was a comfortable win in the next round, though, as Vinesh pinned American rival opponent in just 75 seconds. She was leading 6-0 at that time. Earlier in the day, Anshu Malik pulled out of the 57kg competition due to fever. She will be in isolation as a precautionary measure till she gets her COVID-19 test report.
Anshu had qualified for the Tokyo Games through the Asian Olympic Qualifier, held in Almaty in April this year. She is now the second Indian to have pulled out of the last Ranking Series event ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
