Wrestler Vinesh Phogat sets mat on fire, grabs gold at Grand Prix of Spain
Sending out a warning to her rivals ahead of the Asian Games, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat grabbed a gold at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, conceding just one point in five bouts en route the dominating title victory.
The 23-year-old Vinesh outclassed Canada’s Natasha Fox 10-0 in the final to claim her second consecutive gold. She had won a gold at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in the 50kg category.
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Vinesh began her campaign in a dominating fashion by beating Mariana Diaz on technical superiority and then thumped Erin Golston 12-1.
Next up for her was Valeria Chepsarakova, whom she beat 5-0. The semifinal against Jessi Macdonald also turned out to be a lop-sided affair with Vinesh winning 10-0 on technical superiority.
The script remained unchanged in the final as Natasha proved no match to Vinesh, who again won 10-0.
It was the last tournament for Vinesh before the Asian Games, beginning August 18 in Jakarta and Palembang.
“My confidence got boosted after winning gold at CWG. In this competition, I wanted to see where I lack, heading into the Asian Games. It was a big competition, it was world class. The target was to play and do well here before the Asian Games,” Vinesh told PTI from Madrid.
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“It was a good field with top wrestlers from Russia, USA and Canada in my category. I hope I can continue with my gold spree at the Asian Games.”
Vinesh, who trains in Hungary with her new coach Woller Akos, said she wants the Hungarian to come to India as her personal trainer.
“He is a world class coach. I wish he can be with me in India as my personal trainer. I was looking for someone like him. I have trained for about 20 days with him in Hungary and he has nicely picked where I need to do better. He is happy with my performance so far and preparing me for gold at Asian Games,” said Vinesh.