What’s the story?
In a thrilling contest in the ongoing Pro Wrestling League Season 2 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Pankaj Rana of the NCR Punjab Royals claimed a spectacular 9-8 victory against the Mumbai Maharathi’s Pritam in the 70kg category clash.
The bout could have gone either way but it was Rana who took home the win with a powerful takedown with just 10 seconds remaining. “I would like to thank my coach after this win for his inspirational words during the break. I was focussed fully on the job at hand and despite trailing, I knew that I had enough time to turn the tables,” said an ecstatic Rana after the match.
In case you didn’t know...
Rana is a two-time bronze medalist at the senior nationals, finishing third in the 2015 and 2016 editions. After losing to Vinod Kumar Omprakash in his side’s previous match against the Jaipur Ninjas, he gave it his all in a scintillating see-saw battle.
Also read: Veteran Nirmala Devi's clinical win leads NCR Punjab Royals to victory
Pritam, who is the reigning junior national champion, had a three-point lead with less than a minute to go in the bout. However, Rana turned the tide in his favour with a few seconds left to put his side in the driver’s seat on the overall scoreboard.
The heart of the matter
It was the Punjab man who went into the break with a 4-2 lead but it was soon overturned after the Mumbai youngster made it 5-8 ten seconds into the final minute of the bout with a pushout. Rana, in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the match, went in for a thigh grab, which he successfully converted into a takedown.
Still trailing 7-8, he went for broke and dived in to grab Pritam’s left ankle. The attack was successful and with the seconds ticking away and the crowd cheering on vociferously, he managed to turn over his opposing grappler and grounded him to pick up two points. With just a few seconds left, he held on for the win and set the platform for his side’s victory in the tie.
What next?
The Royals would go on to win the next two fixtures as well – Nirmala Devi and Togrul Asgarov won their respective bouts in the women’s 48 kg and men’s 65 kg categories respectively. The win takes the Punjab team to third in the league standings.
For Mumbai, it was two losses in two matches. They will look to finally open their account in their match against the Jaipur Ninjas on Monday.
Sportskeeda’s Take
It was a highly enjoyable match, as both wrestlers fought tooth and nail in this titanic encounter. It was Rana who led initially, before falling behind with less than a minute left. Under quite dramatic circumstances, the Royals’ grappler clinched the win – much to the delight of the capacity crowd and surely the audience watching the match on television as well.
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