Vinesh Phogat pulled off a major upset when she defeated world no.1 Yui Susaki in her Round of 16 bout. In the last 10 seconds, Vinesh’s sensational move helped her end Susaki’s long-running winning streak of 82 games. The Japanese wrestler had not lost a single game at the international stage. As Vinesh continued her winning run and created history by reaching the final, Yui advanced to the repechage round and then won the bronze medal. After returning with a bronze, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist apologises to fans and expressed her frustration.
"I had the honour of winning the bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics! First of all, thank you so much for all your support. It has really helped me out! I wanted to see my family, teammates, and fans who have fought with me for the past three years to win the gold medal, but I couldn't do it, and I'm so sorry and frustrated that I committed a betrayal," Susaki wrote.
Dominating win to bag bronze
After the defeat to Vinesh, Susaki asserted her dominance against Ukraine's Oksana Livach and beat her by technical superiority, 10-0. She thanked everyone her for their support after the shocking loss.
"Despite the loss, encouraging words from all over the world and worlds that they still believe in me and will continue to support me. I wasn't able to reply, but I read every message, one by one, and I can't measure how much it touched my heart, how much it saved my heart, and how much it made me want to keep moving forward. Thank you so much! As long as there are people who still support me and believe in me, I am strongly willing to keep going hard again to achieve my goal of becoming an Olympic champion," she added.
Susaki hopes she can love the bronze medal
The 25-year-old who has won nothing but gold in her career wants to win gold in the next two Olympics and hopes that she starts appreciating the bronze medal.
"I'm glad that I have this bronze medal. I hope that one day I can truly love this bronze medal. I will definitely achieve the Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles four years later, and the Olympics gold medal in Brisbane eight years later,” she expressed.
“This frustration can only be cleared up in the Olympics, so I will definitely hit this frustration in four years from now at the Olympics,” she further wrote.
Verdict on Vinesh's silver medal
While Susaki did not return empty-handed, Vinesh was disqualified from the gold medal bout as she was 100 grams overweight at the weigh-in. She appealed that she should get a silver medal. Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is set to give its verdict on August 13.
Vinesh Arrives in India
Vinesh Phogat's verdict for the silver medal has been dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the wrestler is now back in India on August 17. She was seen in tears after meeting her family at Indra Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. A huge crowd gathered at the Delhi Airport to welcome the 29-year-old. Fans showered flower petals upon her arrival in the national capital.
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