Undefeated Five-Time World Champion Wrestler Yui Susaki Falls In Stunning Upset At Olympics

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The Olympic gold medal in the 50-kilogram division of women's freestyle wrestling was Yui Susaki's to lose in Paris, to put it as mildly as humanly possible. The 25-year-old out of Japan entered the event a five-time world champion with an 82-0 record on the international stage. Susaki won gold during the 2020 Olympics by defeating her opponents by a combined score of 41-0, yet her insane run came to an end during her first-round bout on Tuesday.

India's Vinesh Phogat pulled off the stunning comeback victory against the Susaki by a score of 3-2 despite trailing 2-0 with time very much not on her side. Phogat isn't a nobody in the sport having won bronze in the world championships twice in her career, but her win over Susaki was the stunner of all stunners.

Phogat managed a two-point takedown with just 10 seconds remaining to knot things up, but having been the last one to score, she was awarded the tiebreak.

To put into perspective just how grand an upset this was, Susaki entered the match having never lost to a non-Japanese opponent. According to ESPN India, Susaki had lost a grand total of three times in her entire life dating back to 2010 when she was only a fifth grader.

Three losses in a span of more than 10 years for Susaki, yet Phogat was able to pull off the unthinkable on the biggest stage the sport has to offer.

Phogat has become a well-known figure in India and around the world having been among the leaders in protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Herself and two other top wrestlers accused Singh of sexually harassing women wrestlers, and in May, many wrestlers were detained while marching towards the Parliament.

Bajrang Punia, an Olympic medalist out of India himself, posted on X after Phogat's victory to put things into perspective. 

"Vinesh Phogat is the lioness of India who won back to back matches today. Defeated 4-time World Champion and defending Olympic champion. After that he defeated the former World Champion in the quarterfinals. But let me tell you one thing, This girl was kicked and crushed in her own country."

"This girl was dragged on the streets in her country This girl is going to conquer the world but she lost to the system in this country."

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.