Wrestling Grand Prix of Spain: Vinesh Phogat clinches gold medal in 53kg category; Divya Kakran claimes top honours in 68kg

Putting up a dominating show, India’s top wrestler Vinesh Phogat won her first gold medal after shifting to 53kg category while Divya Kakran claimed the top honours in the 68kg category at the Grand Prix of Spain. Vinesh, one of India’s medal hopefuls at the 2020 Tokyo Games, was competing only in her third tournament in the new category. [caption id=“attachment_6951251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Vinesh Phogat grabbed the gold medal in Spain. Image courtesy: Twitter/@Phogat_Vinesh[/caption] In the eight-wrestler 53kg draw, Vinesh comfortably beat Peru’s Justina Benites and Russia’s Nina Minkenova before getting the better of Dutch rival Jessica Blaszka in the final. Gold medal winner at the Jakarta Asian Games, Vinesh did not lose a single point against Justina and Nina but Jessica did take six points from the Indian in the final. Vinesh had competed in Asian Championship and Dan Kolov, where she won a bronze and silver respectively in the 53kg category before this tournament. Also standing atop the podium was Asian Games bronze medallist Divya, who lost just four points in her campaign. The outspoken Indian grappler blanked Poland’s Agnieszka Wieszczek-Kordus in the final. World Championship bronze medallist Pooja Dhanda (57kg) had to be content with a silver after losing the title clash to Russia’s Veronika Chumikova. Also winning silver medals were Seema (50kg), Manju Kumari (59kg) and Kiran (76kg) who lost their gold medal bouts to Poland’s Iwona Matkowska, Russia’s Liubov Ovcharova and Ksennia Burakova, respectively. Sakshi Malik withdrew from the competition due to a minor injury. India finished second with 130 points in team championship behind Russia (165).