Vinesh Phogat loses in quarters, Anshu Malik bows out after repechage defeat
Chiba (Japan), Aug 5: Vinesh Phogat suffered a massive upset defeat at the Olympic Games after being pinned by Belarus' Vanesa Kaladzinskaya in the 53kg quarterfinals to not only go out of the gold medal race but also face the risk of getting eliminated, here on Thursday.
Vinesh had no answer to the supreme defence of Vanesa, who got her revenge from the Indian at the biggest stage after suffering a similar embarrassing defeat 'by fall' earlier this year in Ukraine.
Vanesa, the reigning European champion, executed her strategy perfectly as Vinesh could not find a way to wriggle out of Vanesa's headlocks.
That crippled and rattled the top seed Vinesh, who is one of the strongest wrestlers in her category.
Even when Vinesh got behind Vansea, she could not push her down on the knees from a favourable position with the Belarusian showing immense strength to keep her legs straight.
Vinesh used all her might but Vanesa's defence would not crumble. Even the famous double-leg attack that Vinesh has used to get herself into position to pin her rivals, did not result in points.
Now if the Belarusian does not make the final, Vinesh's Olympic campaign will end in another heart-breaking exit.
She had suffered a quarterfinal defeat against China's Sun in Rio Games, where she also endured a leg injury and was stretchered out of the mat.
Before this bout, Vinesh had knocked out Rio Olympics bronze-winner and six-time world medallist Sofia Mattsson with a commanding 7-1 win.
Vinesh had beaten the Swede at the 2019 World Championship as well.
Every time Mattsson initiated a right-leg attack, Vinesh produced a splendid counter to score points.
Showing her immense power, Vinesh turned the Swede from a difficult position on the edge of the mat when she could have conceded a point.
The Indian maintained the intensity throughout and even got herself into a position for a pin but the Swede escaped the embarrassment.
Young Anshu Malik bowed out of the 57kg competition after losing her repechage round 1-5 to Russia's Valeria Koblova, the Rio Olympics silver medallist.
Anshu never looked intimidated by a stronger opponent and was leading the bout at one stage on criteria but towards the end, the Russian pulled off a two-pointer to nose ahead.
The 19-year-old Indian had lost her opener to European champion Irina Kurachikina but after the Belarusian progressed to the final, she bounced back to be in contention.
Ravi Dahiya (57kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg) will fight for gold and bronze medal respectively, in the evening session.
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Judiciary cut through web of lies: Kavitha after court clears her name in Delhi excise policy case
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha on Friday expressed relief over being discharged in the Delhi excise policy case and said the judiciary has cut through the "web of lies" in the case.
Kavitha, daughter of BRS president and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, said she has always maintained that the case was politically motivated, foisted on "opposition parties" as part of a political vendetta.
"Satyamev Jayate (truth alone triumphs). This (case) was a web of lies. Judiciary has cut right through it," she told reporters here.
A Delhi court on Friday discharged former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, Kavitha and 20 others in the politically charged liquor policy case, pulling up the CBI by saying it found no "overarching conspiracy or criminal intent" in the policy.
Kavitha said her family members, including her husband, in-laws, and parents, and Telangana Jagruthi workers stood by her during her difficult times, and thanked them for their support.
Her father, Chandrasekhar Rao, himself time and again, said that the case was a vendetta against him and BRS which was reflected on her, she said.
"Who will account for the time that I lost with my kids (due to her incarceration for five months)? Who will account for the time that I lost with my family," she asked.
Who will answer for her alleged harassment online and abuses in public meetings (by political leaders), she further asked.
Asked if she would like to share her happiness with her father KCR and brother and BRS Working President K T Rama Rao, she said she took her mother's blessings after coming to know about the court verdict.
"I took my mother's blessings after getting this result. This is not the time to talk about other things. I am thankful to all those who stood by me during this case," she said.
Arrested in March 2024, Kavitha walked out of Tihar jail in Delhi on August 29 the same year after the Supreme Court granted her bail in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy case.
Kavitha was suspended from the BRS in September, 2025 after she accused her cousins and party leaders T Harish Rao and J Santosh Kumar of "tarnishing" her father's image over the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project built during the BRS regime.
Since her suspension, she has been focusing on public issues under the banner of Telangana Jagruthi, a cultural organisation she heads.
She also announced in December last year that her political platform would contest the next assembly elections in the state.
