Vinesh Phogat wins gold at Rome Ranking Series event

It was a tough road to the final for the Indian grappler as she downed two tough Chinese rivals on her way to the 53kg gold medal bout in which she overpowered Valverde comprehensively.

It was her power in the upper body that left her rival rattled. The shoulders pull coupled with her aggressive instinct did not allow the Ecuadorian to launch a counter-attack.

Earlier, Vinesh won her bouts against Khrystyna Bereza (10-0) and Lannuan Luo (15-5) by technical superiority.

If the win against Ukrainian Bereza was about spectacular double leg attacks, the quarterfinal win over the Luo was much tougher than what the score-line suggested.

Luo was a strong opponent, who led 5-2 at the end of first period but Vinesh turned it around with smart point-scoring moves from nowhere in the second period.

Twice she threw Luo with moves from between the legs when the Chinese was holding her from the back.

With two wrestlers, 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 semi-final, With two takedowns in each period she led 4-0 and conceded points only towards the end of the fight.

(With PTI inputs)

The Indian Express Sports is now on Telegram. For more news, videos and podcasts, subscribe to Indian Express Sports on Telegram.