Paris: The strategy is sound in theory. Against a raging opponent who has been impossible to breach, stay back, defend, keep the score close, hold on to it for as long as possible and then go on the attack. Seems simple enough, isn’t it?

If it were so, Yui Susaki wouldn’t remain unbeaten all through her international wrestling career, giving only so much as a point or two here and there and a few minutes for her several challengers to stay on the mat.

It needed the mind and heart of Vinesh Phogat to pull it off. And with it the most audacious result from an Indian at the Paris Olympics and one of the biggest upsets of these Games as a whole.

Facing the Japanese juggernaut first up in a first Olympic bout of a new weight division would’ve left most trembling. Vinesh, who’d dropped from the 53kg division at the Tokyo Games to 50kg for Paris, remained firm. Both in the mind and her tactics.

Defence watertight, Vinesh would not yield. The Indian looked out for every move that the Japanese could make, keeping her legs constantly moving and her body rotating. Susaki, known for her blitzy attacks and swift movements, found no opening. Not even when she grabbed Vinesh’s right leg in the only move of attack that the Tokyo champions could penetrate through. Even there, Vinesh’s legs held as firm as her resolute mind.

Vinesh herself was in no mood to attack, and the two points lost on account of passivity were hardly a bother. For a wrestler who knocks off points crafting away attacking moves for fun, Vinesh had Susaki exactly where she wanted her to be in the dying seconds of the bout. Close to her, waiting for that one moment to seize.

Vinesh duly did, her larger build owing to her heavier natural weight coming in handy there. Bodies moving more frantically now, Vinesh charged towards Susaki and, with all that mighty force and frame, threw the Japanese off balance and plunged on to the mat. Two points in the bag, Vinesh had the bout in her pocket. The tactic, planned perfectly in the company of her personal coach Woller Akos, had paid off in epic proportions.

“She defended solidly in the first four minutes. And then waited for the opportunity to attack from the sixth. It was all planned and discussed again last night,” India’s national wrestling team coach Virender Dahiya said.

Switching weights brings with it the unfamiliarity of opponents. No matter how many videos are looked at or plans put into place, the feel of a fresh rival on the wrestling mat feels different. For Vinesh, that rival for her first outing at the Paris Olympics happened to be the top-ranked Japanese who had never been defeated until the day.

“Vinesh is an experienced wrestler, and she is mentally the toughest wrestler there is out there,” Dahiya said. “She had been preparing for this for months on her own and building up to this day at the Olympics.”

Vinesh was in tears, and so was Susaki as she walked off.

“This Olympics wasn’t just about me. Many people came here to watch me, my family, people from my company, my friends. I can only apologize to them. I can’t believe that it has all ended here,” she said.

The Tokyo Olympics, where she breezed through to gold without losing a single point along the way, was a distant blur for her now. Susaki apologised once again, as if she was never meant to ever lose in her career.

“For these three years, so many people supported me to get me to this point. It was not the effort of my alone. It has all gone to waste, and I am so sorry.”

Vinesh had got the big fish but the job wasn’t even half done, although she faced a kinder draw to go through after the opening climb. The Indian went on to do what no Indian woman wrestler has ever before — make the final.

Vinesh remained largely in control against Oksana Livach of Ukraine in the quarter-finals, beating her 7-5 after coming through a dramatic last few seconds. She was up against Cuban Yusneylis Guzman Lopez -- the Indian had beaten her earlier this year -- in the semis and there, with tweaked tactics, closed it out 5-0. Taking a one-point lead after her defence again was solid, Vinesh was given a passivity warning. She then swung into attack, hunting for the Cuban’s legs and coming out finding a couple of takedowns.

Vinesh folded her hands and looked skyward. A medal was confirmed. She was teary-eyed, so was Akos on the sidelines. The day that began with tears and a stunning upset was capped off by some more tears and another stamping victory.

Read Also: India's dismal badminton campaign at the Olympics comes to an end with no podium finish; worst performance since 2008