Vinesh Phogat made a stupendous start in her pursuit of a spot in the Indian team for the Asian Games, beating Jyoti 7-1 in her opening bout at the selection trials here on Saturday.
Vinesh was cautious in the beginning and largely involved in standing wrestling but comfortably made her moves as the bout progressed.
She began with a push point on counter and soon went for a double leg attack that did not yield any points. She was put on clock at the start of the second period and from there she began to dominate.
She converted a right leg attack into a take down move to go 3-0 up. Jyoti too launched a furious leg attack but Vinesh used all her strength to foil the attempt.
On counter attack, Vinesh made two quick moves to make it 7-0, while Jyoti got on board with a push-out point.
Vinesh will next take on Nishu, who won by fall against Riya.
Meanwhile, Antim Panghal needed only 34 seconds to make a winning start as she defeated Tannu by technical superiority. In no time, Antim had her rival locked in a 'fitley' move and rolled Tannu five times to finish the bout in a jiffy.
Antim and Vinesh are drawn to meet in the final. Vinesh, though, will have to contend with the talented Meenakshi Goyat in the semifinals.
Earlier in the day, two-time world championships medallist Vinesh was allowed to compete in the women's 53kg category after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) reversed its earlier stand of restricting her participation to the 50kg division.
The dramatic turn of events came during the official weigh-in on Saturday morning when Vinesh was informed that she would be permitted to compete only in the 50kg category, citing her participation in that weight class in her last four international events, including the Paris Olympics.
The wrestler strongly objected to the decision and accused the federation of discriminating against her by denying her the opportunity to compete in a category of her choice.
Sources present at the venue said the matter escalated before WFI president Sanjay Singh intervened and decided to allow Vinesh to enter the 53kg trials as well.
"We allowed her after she threw accusations and asked the officials to take her weight," WFI President Sanjay Singh told PTI.
"We do not want to discriminate against anyone. She did not inform us of which category she wants to compete and still letting her."
Vinesh subsequently weighed in at 53.9kg and was accommodated in the 53kg draw.
In a brief chat with media while preparing, Vinesh said, "I am here for at least two years."
The development was a significant climb-down by the WFI, which had maintained that Vinesh would be considered only for the 50kg category.
The federation's argument was that the wrestler had consistently competed in that division in recent international competitions and had not formally intimated the WFI about switching categories for the trials.
The issue had already generated considerable controversy after the Delhi High Court directed the WFI to treat Vinesh as an "iconic player" and allow her to participate in the Asian Games selection trials.
Vinesh, however, has competed in multiple weight divisions during her career, including 53kg, and was keen to contest the trials in that category.
The winner of the trials will earn the right to represent India at the Asian Games later this year.