Olympics 2021: Wrestler Adeline Gray's projected path to finals

USA's Adeline Gray will begin her journey on Day 9 of Tokyo Olympics 2020 and will have her eyes set firmly on the gold medal. Five years earlier in Rio, she had come up short in the quarter-finals when she lost to Bulgaria's Vasilisa Marzaliuk.

The five-time World Champion wrestler will leave no stone unturned this time at Tokyo Olympics 2020 to capture the elusive gold medal in the women's 76kg freestyle category. However, her path to the prize won't be easy.

2 more sleeps 💤💤💤 until my Olympic Games! pic.twitter.com/Ubr2qh3FpD

— Adeline Gray OLY (@AdelineGray) July 30, 2021

Here are Adeline Gray's prospective opponents on her way to the finals.

Adeline Gray's projected path to finals

Round of 16 - Zaineb Sghaier (Tunisia)

First up for Adeline would be the 2020 African Wrestling gold medallist Zaineb Sghaier from Tunisia. However, she won the title in the women's 72kg category. That weight division is absent from the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Rather than dropping weight, Zaineb has climbed up a weight division. Adeline needs to be wary of her opponent's quick movements.

Quarter-final - Yasemin Adar (Turkey)

If Adeline manages to overcome the first hurdle, the next opponent facing her would be Turkey's Yasemin Adar. The four-time European champion and winner of the 2017 World Championships in Paris, Yasemin is no stranger to her.

The two crossed swords at the finals of the 2018 World Championships in Budapest and Adeline came out on top via Tech Fall. It remains to be seen if Adeline can beat Yasemin once again.

Semi-final - Natalia Vorobieva (ROC)

Silver medalist Natalia Vorobeva of Russia stands on the podium

If all goes well, Adeline is likely to face ROC's Natalia Vorobieva. The Russian has not missed out on a podium finish since 2012. At the London Games, she won the gold medal at the 72kg category before capturing the silver at 69kg three years later.

This time, Natalia will be participating in the 76kg category. Russia vs USA has always been an interesting wrestling match on the global stage. It remains to be seen who comes out at the top in this mouth-watering clash.

Finals - Erica Wiebe (Canada)

If all goes well, Adeline should lock horns with 2016 Rio gold medallist Erica Wiebe. The Canadian lost to the American at the 2018 World Championships in the semi-finals and will be eyeing revenge.

Erica is known to step up on big occasions and will likely not commit any errors in the finals. But can Adeline step up and bring her A-game in this bout against her neighbor? We will only get to know the answers only in the finals.