Rome : A dominant Vinesh Phogat won her first gold of the 2020 season at the Rome Ranking Series event after teen sensation Anshu Malik settled for a silver in 57kg competition.
Vinesh downed two tough Chinese rivals on her way to the 53kg gold medal bout in which she overpowered Ecudor’s Luisa Elizabeth Valverde 4-0.
Vinesh won by technical superiority against Khrystyna Bereza (10-0) and Lannuan Luo (15-5) before getting the better of Qianyu Pang (4-2). If the win against Ukrainian Bereza was about spectacular double-leg attacks, the quarterfinal win over Luo was much tougher than what the scoreline suggested. Luo was a strong opponent who led 5-2 at the end of the first period but Vinesh turned it around with smart point-scoring moves in the second period.
Dominating show
Twice she threw Luo with moves from between the legs when the Chinese was holding her from the back. The two wrestlers, both having immense upper-body strength, jostling for upper hand from standing position was a sight to watch. Fighting a measured bout against Pang, Vinesh was in control in the semifinal. With two take-downs in each period, she led 4-0 and conceded points only towards the end of the fight.
The 18-year-old Anshu lost to Nigeria’s Odunayo Adekuoroye in the final bout. The Jind wrestler was very dominant till the final, beating American Jenna Rose Burkert, Grace Bullen of Norway, and 2019 world champion Linda Morais of Canada en route the final.
Divya Kakran returned empty-handed after losing the 68kg bronze medal playoff bout to Danielle Suzanne Lappage of Canada.
In the 50kg category, Nirmala Devi lost her semifinal to Sarah Ann Hildebrandt and later the bronze play-off to Victoria Lacey Anthony to miss out on a medal. Satyawart Kadian (97kg) and Sumit Malik (125kg) exited following their quarters defeats. (Agencies)
