Vinesh Phogat was literally born into a family of wrestlers, and wrestling is more like a family sport to them. Vinesh is the youngest of the lot; her cousins Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari have held the baton for long. And it was the eldest of the three Geeta who made way for Vinesh to jump onto the Wrestling scene in 2012.

Since making herself known at the nationals she went on to compete internationally and is en-route her debut Olympics in Rio this year.

Qualification

Vinesh Phogat sealed a spot for Rio by winning a gold medal at the second World Qualification tournament in Istanbul, Turkey. Her qualification brought back some much needed smiles in the Phogat household as both Geeta and Babita had been banned from participating at the qualifier due to a forfeit in an earlier event.

Earning the spotlight

The eldest sister Geeta opted out of the 2012 nationals giving an opportunity to an 18 year old Vinesh. Geeta performed as a guide to her younger cousin with her valuable comments from the side of the mat. However, it was not until a year later that the world would take note of her. Vinesh went on to the finals of the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Johannesburg 2013, eventually she settled for the silver. But that was enough to launch her career in the international arena.

She has gone on to win medals at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Wrestling Championships. Vinesh’s only gold medal has come in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Route to Rio

Vinesh has emerged from what can be called as India’s premier women’s wrestling family. She has succeeded and lived up to the reputation of her sisters, she has achieved what they have achieved and has fought her way to the Olympics in Rio. It is argued that she had an easy outing at the qualifiers with most of the top-flight having qualified already.

She competed in the 51 Kg category at the Asian Wrestling Championships earlier this year and won the bronze medallion. She will be participating in the 48 Kg category in Rio. Vinesh has won medals at both her debut Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in the same category.

Medal Quest

Vinesh Phogat along with her sister Babita will bear the expectations of the family on their young shoulders. Apart from the pressure of performing, her major challenge would be to keep her weight in check; she had been disqualified in an earlier qualifier event for being overweight. Her medal tally is a proof for a bright future. However, most wrestling fans would hope for her to maintain her debut luck even at the Olympics to win a medal for the country.