Sun Yanan had a shocked look on her face but every pair of eyes was only on the slumped figure in orange singlet on the mat. Vinesh Phogat, only 21-years old then but already one of India’s brightest hopes for a medal at the Rio Olympics, had twisted her knee at an awkward angle, could not move at all and was distraught enough to not even realise the extent of her pain and injury.
That pain finally eased away on Sunday here when Vinesh overcame Yanan with a dominating 8-2 win in the pre-quarterfinals of her Asian Games competition. Yanan, a former World Champion and silver medallist at the Incheon Asiad four years ago, was no pushover but Vinesh made it look too easy.
She admitted even she hadn’t expected it to be so easy. “As an opponent, you respect everyone. I wasn’t looking for revenge. But yes, there was pressure on me before the bout — pressure to prove it to myself. I have met her thrice before and lost every time but I knew I was good enough, strong enough. I had to now prove it on the mat, that is where it counts,” she said.
