CWG 2022: Golden hat-trick for Vinesh Phogat; Ravi Dahiya, Naveen Sihag prove too strong for field in wrestling gold rush

Vinesh entered the arena in her final round-robin bout against Sri Lanka's Chamodya Maduravlage Don amid a buzz among the spectators. Then, a silent prayer by touching the mat and placing her fingers back on her forehead. Then exactly two minutes 24 seconds later, the Tricolor was draped around her as she took a victory lap around the Coventry Stadium wrestling hall.

Vinesh had won four technical points in those 144 seconds, but the victory came by 'fall' after she had her opponent pinned. CWG 2022 DAY 9: AS IT HAPPENEDThe grappler from the famed Phogat household had won all her bouts in cruise control. With only four wrestlers competing in 53kg weight category, the medals were decided in Nordic format - a round-robin format unlike a knockout one in all other weight categories.

Vinesh reduced her opening bout against the 2021 world championships bronze medallist Samantha Leigh Stewart to a no-contest and finished it in a mere 36 seconds. Vinesh had the Canadian in a headlock from where she pushed her on the mat and in no time had her rival pinned. Even before people could warm up to the contest, it was all over. Next up for Vinesh was Nigeria's Mercy Bolafunoluwa Adekuoroye, who tried to resist a bit but soon the Indian had her in an iron grip. Vinesh kept her in that position for more than a minute in a show of absolute power. The result was another easy win. Does yet another CWG gold mean Vinesh has exorcised the demons that crept after the Tokyo Olympics? She had unexpectedly crashed out in the quarterfinals, losing by fall to Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of Belarus in the Tokyo Games.

Her loss evoked a spate of criticism - from the Wrestling Federation of India, media, coaches, fans etc. The federation even suspended her