Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has won the gold medal in the women’s 53-kg category at XXIV Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial in Kyiv, Ukraine. Vinesh Phogat defeated world number seven Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of Belarus in the finals to win the gold medal and make a winning return to her first competitive outing since the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medalist had defeated Romania’s Ana A by fall in the semi-final to reach the summit clash. Vinesh has already booked a place in the Tokyo Olympics for the 53kg category. Since the coronavirus halted all competitions last year, it was the first competition for Vinesh, who is the only Indian woman wrestler to have qualified for the Tokyo Games. The 26 year old will be seen in action in the season’s first ranking tournament from March 4-7 in Rome.
