Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat clinched the women’s 53kg category gold medal at the Poland Open after beating Ukraine’s Khrystyna Bereza in the final in Warsaw.
Phogat outwrestled Bereza 8-0 in the final on Friday. It is the third title of the season for the 26-year-old Vinesh, who claimed gold medals at the Matteo Pellicone event (March) and Asian Championship (April) earlier.
This was India’s second medal at the event after Ravi Kumar Dahiya’s silver in the men’s 61kg on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Vinesh’s Indian team-mate Anshu Malik, who was set to compete in the women’s 57kg event, pulled out of the competition due to fever. The reigning Asian champion underwent a test for COVID-19 and has been kept in isolation until the result comes in.
Anshu showed signs of fever during the official weigh-in and was asked to pull out. She is the second Indian to have pulled out of the tournament.
On Tuesday, Deepak Punia withdrew from the men’s freestyle 86kg competition owing to an elbow injury.
India had sent four Tokyo Olympics-bound wrestlers – Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Deepak Puniya – for the Poland Open. The event is the last Ranking Series event ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, which starts in July.
