Injured Wrestler Vinesh will have to use crutches for two weeks: Team doctor

Amid the celebrations over Sakshi Malik's bronze medal, the Indian contingent at the ongoing Rio Olympics received another piece of good news with doctors saying the injury to Vinesh Phogat was a "ligament tear" and no fracture was seen.

"She will recover from the injury in about two weeks, but for her to start wrestling will take about six weeks at least," the Chief Medical Officer of the Indian contingent in Rio, Pawandeep Singh Kohli told IANS.

Vinesh had sustained what seemed to be a serious knee injury during her bout against Sun Yanan of China in the quarter-finals of the Women's Freestyle 48kg category at the Carioca Arena 2 here on Wednesday.

"After an MRI test, we could conclude that there was a ligament tear and injury to muscles in the outer part of the knee area," Kohli said adding that recovering in such cases is ensured but she would have to rest and moved around in crutches for two weeks.

The doctor said she sustained the injury when her opponent in the wrestling match caught her foot and turned it sharply, putting pressure on the knee. "It's an agonising pain when a ligament tears," he said. A brace has been put on her leg. She will be examined after two weeks and then advise given on future course of treatment.

Vinesh had sustained what seemed to be a serious knee injury during her bout against Sun Yanan of China in the quarter-finals of the Women's Freestyle 48kg category at the Carioca Arena 2 here on Wednesday.

Earlier, the chef de mission Rakesh Gupta had said that no fracture meant that her recovery would be quick. "We were hoping that there should not be any bone injury," he added.

The Haryana grappler, one of India's best bets for a medal, had received a bye in the opening round. She then started her campaign on a rousing note with a dominant 11-0 thrashing of Alina Emilia of Romania in the pre-quarterfinals.

The 21-year-old was leading 1-0 against the Chinese grappler at the time of her injury.

The match was immediately stopped to allow medical attention to Vinesh. After the Indian physio declared that Vinesh will not be able to continue, Sun, who was leading 2-1, was declared the winner by injury.

Vinesh, who got her injured knee wrapped and put in a brace, was taken away on a stretcher. She was then shifted to the Athletes Village where a clinic has all the facilities for medical test. However, she had to wait about an hour for the MRI, since the machines were busy with other athletes.

(Hardev Sanotra can be contacted at hardev.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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