Star grappler Vinesh enters maiden Olympic semi-final

Seasoned Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat entered her maiden Olympic semifinals in the 50kg category, beating Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the last-eight stage here on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Vinesh defeated Livach 7-5 in a hard-fought bout to get closer to an elusive Olympic medal in her third attempt.

This was after she caused the biggest wrestling upset in this games when she shocked four-time world champion and reigning gold-medallist Yui Susaki of Japan on points to enter the quarter-finals.

Trailing 0-2 after conceding penalty points for passivity, the Indian wrestler came back brilliantly in the last five seconds to take down the top seed by clinching three points to win 3-2.

Vinesh had failed to win a medal in her two previous Olympic appearances.