It was Day 13 in the inaugural Pro Wrestling League as the unbeaten Haryana Hammers took on the CDR Punjab Royals. Both teams are assured of a spot in the top four, but a win in this fixture will be a great boost in confidence going into the knockout phase of the competition.
The tie kicked off with the 125 kg category bout as Hitender took on Punjab’s Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat. It was the Royals who went ahead in royal fashion as their Mongolian import completed a swift victory by pinfall in just 38 seconds.
Nirmal Devi, a six-time national champion, equalized for the Haryana side after an accomplished performance against her British opponent Yana Rattigan in the 48 kg clash.
Devi took a 4-1 lead in the first round and displayed some fantastic defense to keep her opponent at bay. She extended her lead early in the second round to make it 6-1 and held her nerve to close out the bout at 6-3, not allowing Rattigan to make a comeback.
The third bout saw a masterful display by reigning world champion Vladimir Khinchegashvili in the 57 kg category. The Georgian kept his cool and outwitted his opponent Nitin Rathee to clinch a 6-1 win for the Royals.
The Punjab man took the lead with a left-ankle attack, but Rathee halved the deficit to 2-1. Khinchegashvili picked up a further two points after his opponent was penalized for foul play and capped off the win with a sparkling reversal in the last minute of play.
Next up was a clash between two champion wrestlers in the 58 kg category - world number one Oksana Herhel and Punjab skipper and 2010 CWG gold medallist Geeta Phogat. It was a topsy-turvy battle with the Indian claiming a narrow win in the last few seconds of the bout.
It was the Ukrainian who went into a 1-2 lead after the first round as Phogat survived a pinfall only thanks to the clock running down. The Royals captain fought back and then made it 5-2 in her favor.
With 30 seconds to go, Herhel looked to have sealed the win with a superb clutch move that got her four points. But it was Phogat who had the final say as she grounded her rival and gained the crucial two points with just four seconds left to take the bout 7-6.
The Royals clinched the tie in the 97 kg category bout as Mausam Khatri steamrolled over his Argentine opponent Yuri Maier. He led 6-1 in the first round and completed a comfortable 12-1 technical fall win after the four-minute mark.
It was David versus Goliath in the penultimate bout, but it was Goliath who won easily this time around. Reigning European champion Vasilisa Marzaliuk defeated veteran Geetika Jakhar in the 69 kg category to extend her team’s lead to 5-1.
Marzaliuk led 4-0 after the first round ended and finished the match at 7-0. She used her significant height advantage to outwrestle her much shorter opponent, who didn’t come close to making a breakthrough even once.
Yogeshwar Dutt picked up a consolation win for the Hammers in the final 65 kg bout as he defeated Rajneesh Kumar. He survived an early scare as he came back from 0-2 down to secure a 6-3 win in front of a crowd chanting his name vociferously.
The 5-2 loss ends a three-match winning streak for the Hammers while the Punjab Royals complete their set of fixtures to enter the semifinals with six points out of a possible ten.
Haryana Hammers vs CDR Punjab Royals | ||||
Day 13 - Pro Wrestling League | ||||
Haryana Hammers | CDR Punjab Royals | |||
Weight Category | Name of Wrestler | Points | Name of Wrestler | Points |
125 kgs | Hitender | 0 | Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat | 4 |
48 kgs | Nirmal Devi | 6 | Yana Rattigan | 3 |
57 kgs | Nitin | 1 | Vladimir Khinchegashvili | 6 |
58 kgs | Oksana Herhel | 6 | Geeta Phogat | 8 |
97 kgs | Yuri Maier | 1 | Mausam Khatri | 12 |
69 kgs | Geetika Jakhar | 0 | Vasilisa Marzaliuk | 7 |
65 kgs | Yogeshwar Dutt | 6 | Rajneesh | 3 |
