Paris [France]: As Vinesh Phogat created history by becoming India’s first female wrestler to qualify for an Olympic final, members of the Indian film industry lauded the 29-year-old over her big feat.
Taking to Instagram, RajKummar Rao shared a picture of Phogat and wrote, “And we are in the finals. It was such a joy watching you playing live. You are the pride of our nation @vineshphogat. Good luck for the finals. Our prayers are with you.”
Actor Ayushmann Khurana uploaded a post featuring Vinesh and said on Instagram Stories, which read, “Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat couldn’t stop crying after her win from the unbeatable world No.1 champion.” He added a National Flag emoji to it.
Actor Riteish Deshmukh, too, congratulated Phogat.
“That’s what a champion looks like after beating the World No 1 & Defending Olympic Gold Medal holder #VineshPhogat,” he posted on X.
Sharing a video of the winning moment, Taapsee Pannu wrote, “This woman is going to be recalled as a benchmark in a lot of ways for decades to come! What a woman! What a crazy year she has shown! @vineshphogat, your fan for life.”
Randeep Hooda posted a photo of Phogat, clicked after her win, on X with a “fingers crossed” emoji.
Actor Kunal Kemmu on social media wrote, “What a champ. Ufff. Sooooooo Proud!!!” His actor-wife, who also saw the historic match, wrote, “First Indian woman to reach an Olympic wrestling final @vineshphogat!!!!! Soooo proud!!!!”
On Tuesday, Vinesh Phogat starred in the quarter-finals against Tokyo 2020 champion Yui Susaki of Japan. Susaki was leading 1-0 at the end of the first period, but Vinesh made a brilliant turnaround in the second period, outdoing her Japanese opponent by miles to secure a 3-2 win to make way to the quarter-finals. She handed the Japanese wrestler her first defeat in 82 international matches.
In the quarter-finals against Ukraine’s Oksana Livach, Vinesh took a lead of 2-0 in the first period. However, Oksana managed to deliver a fight in the second period. But Vinesh, the World Championships medalist held off the challenge from Ukrainian and secured a semi-final berth.
Vinesh will now face USA’s Ann Sarah Hildebrant in the final of the competition on Wednesday, August 7.