Paris Olympics: Yusneylis Guzman Lopez replaces Vinesh Phogat in 50kg wrestling final

Paris, Aug 7
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh Phogat in the semifinals, will replace the Indian wrestler in the women's 50kg final after Vinesh failed the second day weigh-in at the Paris Olympics, the organisers said on Wednesday. Vinesh, who was due to compete in the gold medal bout against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of USA has been disqualified after surpassing the 50kg weight limit by a few grams.

"VINESH (IND) failed second day weigh-in. According to the acticle 11 of the International Wrestling Rules, VINESH (IND) will be replaced by the wrestler who lost against her in the Semifinal. Therefore, Guzman Lopez Yusneylis (CUB) will compete in the Final," the organisers said in a statement.

"Repechage Susaki Yui (JPN) vs Livach Oksana (UKR) will become Bronze Medal Match," it added.

In the semifinal, Vinesh defeated Guzman 5-0 to guarantee India at least a silver medal in the competition. In the process, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman to compete in the Olympics and make it to the final, but she will no longer be present for the momentous match.

Following the disqualification, the star Indian wrestler, who was playing in her third Olympics, will be placed last as per United World Wrestling rules.

Vinesh started her campaign with a major upset win when she defeated world No. 1 and Japan's four-time World Champion and Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Yui Susaki, who was undefeated in 95 international matches, in her entire career as a wrestler.