What’s the story?
It was the last league fixture of season 2 of the Pro Wrestling League as the Haryana Hammers, who have been unbeaten so far, took on the NCR Punjab Royals. The Hammers won in fine style, recording a 5-2 win, led by Sandeep Tomar’s fantastic victory against Vladimir Khinchegashvili, the gold medalist at the Rio Olympics in the 57 kg category.
Tomar, who also participated in Rio, wrapped up a clinical win against his Georgian opponent. He set the tone for his side’s performance as they hammered the Royals in dominant fashion, with Tunisian import Marwa Amri and Russian grappler Magomed Kurbanaliev recording wins via technical superiority.
“It feels really nice to beat an Olympic and world champion for the first time. It is the biggest victory of my career so far,” said Tomar, who is a two-time national champion. He explained his strategy in the post-match press conference, explaining how he bided his time to edge out his opponent 3-1.
“I knew he is a counter-attacking wrestler and hence, I did not attack at all. I gave away the passivity point in the first round and when he was penalised in the second, I knew that he would go all out to attack. He did and I was able to score with a reversal,” explained the grappler from Haryana.
In case you didn’t know...
The Haryana Hammers were on top of the league table as they had won four out of four of their matches before this clash. Below them were the NCR Punjab Royals, who had six points from their four games. It was Tomar who had replaced Narsingh Yadav at the Rio Games, following Yadav’s disqualification a few days before the event.
The heart of the matter
The match began in tense fashion, with both wrestlers trying to avoid taking any unnecessary risks and not attempting any takedowns. On the two-minute mark, however, the Georgian was awarded a point for passivity and was looking to widen the margin on the scoreboard.
Tomar, though, didn’t give him an inch and with just 40 seconds to go, the scores were level after Khinchegashvili was penalised for passivity. With time ticking, he threw the kitchen sink at the Indian. However, his advance was reversed by Tomar, who took him down, scored a couple and held on for the win.
What next?
The Hammers remain top of the table and will face the Jaipur Ninjas in the semifinal on Tuesday. In the other semi, the Punjab Royals will take on the Mumbai Maharathi on Wednesday for a place in the final.
Sportskeeda’s take
It was a scintillating clash between two tactically astute grapplers, with Tomar scoring a fine victory against the reigning European and Olympic champion. It will surely be a great confidence booster for the Indian, who will look to take his side to the PWL title.
