After a one-year break from competitions, Vinesh Phogat proved that her preparations are on the right track by winning gold at the Kiev International Tournament in Ukraine. She had defeated Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of Belarus in the Pro Wrestling League in 2019. This time too she defeated her in the final of the 24th Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial Wrestling event.
“It is a winning return for #TOPSAthlete @Phogat_Vinesh as she wins the gold medal in the women’s 53 kg at the #OutstandingUkrainianWrestlersAndCoachesMemorial event after beating World #7 and 2017 World Champion Vanesa Kaladzinskaya 10-8 in the final,” SAI Media tweeted.
Vanessa is the 2017 World Champion, having defeated many star wrestlers like Odunayo in the PWL. Not only this, in the 2017 PWL, Vinesh and Vanesa were in the same team, namely UP Dangal, where Vinesh was in the 50 kg category and Vanessa in 53 kg. The same Vanessa was defeated by Vinesh by a fall after being trailed by 8-10 in an exciting bout in Kiev. With this victory, Vinesh has won the hearts of every wrestling lover.
Alka Tomar, the first Indian woman to win a medal in the World Championship, was the coach of UP Dangal. She said that in the 2017 PWL, Vinesh and Vanessa had competed in different weight categories but been in the same team and practised together. Alka said that the practice ended Vinesh’s fear of playing against the World Champion and Vinesh’s enthusiasm increased when Vanessa lost to her cousin Sangeeta Phogat in that year’s PWL.
This time, Vinesh opened up a 4-0 lead in the 53 kg final with a throw which she started with a leg attack but Vanesa made it 4-4 with her brilliant move. Vinesh took the break leading 6-4, adding to her score with a takedown, 10 seconds before the break. The Belarusian put pressure on the Indian with another four-point throw but with 25 seconds to go, Vinesh’s move fetched her four more points for a 10-8 lead. She got into a position from where she pinned Kaladzinskaya to ensure herself a gold medal. Vinesh had defeated Romanian Ana A in a semi-final on Saturday to reach the summit clash.
Vinesh’s Hungarian coach Woller Akos had already said that he wanted to assess Vinesh’s preparations by venturing into a competition before landing her in Rome where she will compete with Matteo Pellicone in the first ranking tournament from March 4 to 7.
During the lockdown, Vinesh practiced hard at Kharkhoda (Sonipat). However, she was also infected by Covid on one occasion which affected her practice badly.
Woller Akos took Vinesh to Hungary for training, where she practised rigorous wrestling at the Vasas Sports Club in Budapest. 50 Olympic and 55 World Champions have been prepared at this centre. In terms of Olympic gold, this centre is ranked 24th in the world.
Vinesh’s world ranking is currently three while Vanesa’s ranking is seven. Vinesh qualified for the Tokyo Olympics for the 53 kg category by finishing third in the World Championship held in Astana (Kazakhstan) but Vanesa is the 2017 World Champion.