Vinesh Phogat's disqualification from the women's 50kg wrestling final at Paris Olympics 2024 came as a massive heart-break for Indian sports fans.
However, before that, Vinesh's bouts sent India into euphoria. She pulled off the biggest upset at the Paris Games by outwitting hitherto invincible Yui Susaki with a perfectly planned strategy before edging past Ukraine's Oksana Livach to storm into the women's 50kg semifinal.
The Tokyo Games gold medallist and four-time World Champion (2017, 2018, 2022, 2023) Susaki had not lost any of her 82 bouts in her international career but the Japanese top seed hardly had an idea as to what was about to hit her in the opener which she lost 2-3 to Vinesh Phogat.
Later, as Vinesh entered the final, Yui Susaki got a chance in the repechage and won the bronze. But Susaki has now said she committed 'a betrayal' for not winning the gold. "I had the honour of winning the bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics!