Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, with extensive experience, secured her first Olympic semifinal appearance in the 50kg category by defeating Ukraine's Oksana Livach in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
She will now face Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman for a place in the final. Guzman is the gold medallist at the Pan American Games 2023.
Vinesh, aged 29, triumphed over Livach with a score of 7-5 in a closely contested match, bringing her one step closer to a coveted Olympic medal in her third Olympic attempt.
In a remarkable upset at the games, Vinesh previously defeated Japan's Yui Susaki, a four-time world champion and the current gold medalist, to advance to the quarterfinals, overcoming a 0-2 deficit to emerge victorious with a score of 3-2 in the last five seconds of the match.
Despite participating in two previous Olympic events, Vinesh fell short of clinching a medal on both occasions.