There isn’t a direct parallel that captures Yui Susaki’s perceived invincibility on the wrestling mat. The closest, perhaps, would be Rocky Marciano’s otherworldly run of 49 unbeaten bouts. The Japanese legend’s record, however, puts a shadow on Marciano’s: she had been undefeated in 95 international matches, her entire career as a wrestler that began as a junior in 2010.
Until Tuesday.
Susaki is blessed with agility, speed, strength and flexibility. But she didn’t possess what Vinesh Phogat had: stubbornness and rage. That heady, intangible combination — along with a shrewd game plan executed to the T — propelled Phogat to an improbable win over the reigning champion in the 50 kg category to put her within touching distance of an Olympic medal.
A giant slayed, her other opponents must have felt Lilliputian in comparison. She came out minutes later to beat Ukraine’s Oksana Livach 7-5 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals on Tuesday night, Vinesh will face Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez. The medal rounds will be on Wednesday.
It was, however, Vinesh’s win over Susaki, one of the biggest upsets of these Games, that made the entire Olympic universe stand up and acknowledge. And an outcome that has shaken the wrestling world — all of a sudden, an American wrestler, Jordan Burroughs who has been eulogised in Indian wrestling, was talking about an Indian wrestler.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE VINESH!!!
Vinesh Phogat has defeated the Tokyo Olympics GOLD medalisthttps://t.co/IPYAM2ifqx#OlympicsonJioCinema #OlympicsonSports18 #JioCinemaSports #Wrestling #Olympics pic.twitter.com/RcnydCE3mk
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) August 6, 2024
The Japanese media, cocksure of another gold medal clean sweep in women’s wrestling, lined up to talk to Phogat. She had her blinkers on and did not even glance at those around her as she walked from the mat to the athlete’s lounge. “It’s the biggest news in Japan today,” said one reporter.
Susaki, stunned by the reversal, exited the Champs de Mars Arena, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in tears. “This Olympics wasn’t just about me. Many people came here to watch me, my family, people from my company, my friends,” she said. “I can only apologise to them. I can’t believe that it has all ended here.”
This wasn’t how many expected the script to play out. When the draw came out on Monday, the instinctive reaction for most in Phogat’s corner was that of dread.
There has been no one like Susaki in international wrestling. She is the first wrestler to have won a complete set of world titles — right from the under-17 category to under-20, under-23, senior and the Olympics, which she won three years ago in Tokyo without conceding a point. The 25-year-old has four world titles, winning her first aged 18 in 2017, and then was crowned champion again in 2018, 2022 and 2023.
When Susaki was pocketing titles for fun, which was warming her appetite for the big one — the Paris Olympics gold medal — Vinesh was on the streets of New Delhi leading the protests against former Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment.
For months, the idea of returning to the sport seemed improbable to Vinesh, who was preoccupied with far bigger things — fighting for the safety of women wrestlers and her honour, and taking on the establishment that she felt had been ‘targetting’ her.
Her first comeback bid, last year, was derailed by an injury that forced a knee surgery. In her second attempt, the wrestler had to make a profound decision: changing her weight category from 53 kg to 50. It meant that the wrestler, whose normal body weight is 55-56 kg, had to shed more kilos to remain eligible to fight in her new category and fight against faster, lighter opponents she rarely had before.
All this, as Susaki kept on adding titles to her name, annihilating her opponents, making them writhe in pain with upper-body strength that belies her, and outfoxing them with her lightning-fast deceptions.
In Paris, Susaki was seeded number 1, and Vinesh was unseeded. In theory, it meant that the Japanese was to get an easier opponent in the opening round and the Indian, the toughest.
In this backdrop, Phogat woke up on a hot Parisian morning with the montages of the last year-and-a-half playing in her mind and the luck of the draw completely eluding her, pitting the wrestler who has only endured heartbreaks at the Olympics against one of the greatest of all times.
Then again, those who know Phogat will vouch that she is the most dangerous when, in her mind, the universe conspires against her. This, however, wasn’t a performance driven just by rage and a sense of injustice.
With Hungarian coach Woller Akos, equally abused and insulted after the Tokyo Games, in her corner, Phogat had a plan: to keep the scores as close as possible until the last few seconds and then launch a blistering counterattack.
It’s easier said, though. In Tokyo, Susaki scored 41 points in four bouts to romp through the entire field and finish on top of the podium. Against Phogat, she could get just two — and none from her own attack.
The Indian only defended for roughly 5 minutes and 50 seconds; rotating in circles, maintaining a distance from Susaki so she couldn’t easily attack her ankles to initiate a takedown, cleverly evading her leg grabs and blocking her dominant right hand while keeping a constant vigil on the left, a surprise weapon she uses in tight situations.
Although Phogat herself did not attack, she never let Susaki get a grip on the bout as well. It cost her two points, one each for being too defensive. But in the bigger picture, her high-risk tactic was paying high rewards.
With only 10 seconds remaining, Phogat did the first dramatic thing of the bout — she mustered all her strength, the advantage of earlier competing in a higher weight category, and just charged towards Susaki.
It looked like a pre-planned move and there was no attempt to hold her leg and pin her on the mat. Surprised by the speed of Phogat’s attack and the force with which she came at her, Susaki lost her balance and fell on the mat resulting in two points being awarded to the Indian.
By the time the wrestlers got back on their feet, the time had run out. The score was 2-2, but since Phogat had a high-point takedown (2), she was the winner.
What followed was delirium — an arena stunned, the Japanese delegation looking in disbelief, Susaki sat on her knees unable to soak in while Vinesh sprinted in the direction of her coach. Mid-way, she jumped in elation, slapped the mat and lay down on her back, exhaling deeply.
It was the only time she showed any emotion.