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The Bengaluru Yodhas enjoyed a resounding 6-1 victory in their first fixture against the UP Warriors in the inaugural Pro Wrestling League. The JSW Group-owned franchise laid down the marker for the rest of the campaign with a dominant display at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
The team is led by stalwarts of Indian wrestling in the form of Commonwealth Games gold medalist and Asian bronze medalist Narsingh Yadav, who is also the team’s icon player, and Asian and Commonwealth silver medalist Bajrang Punia. Both grapplers put on an amazing display as they dominated their respective opponents and won by huge margins.
Bajrang faced off against Sushil Kumar in the 65kg Freestyle category in the second bout of the tie and recorded an impressive victory. The match began in tense fashion and Bajrang had to defend well in the initial stages to prevent his opponent from taking the lead. However, the Jhajjar-born wrestler did manage to head into the second round with a 3-0 lead after some strong grappling.
The second round saw Sushil come back into the bout as he made it 3-2, but Bajrang did not let his guard down again and subsequently made some fierce grapples that his opponent had no response to. He completely decimated Sushil’s defences and took control of the situation, as he displayed some superb skill to put extreme pressure on his rival and ended the match at 10-2.
Narsingh’s match was quite similar to his teammate’s as he took the tie away with a strong second-half performance. He was up against Purevjav Unurbat of Mongolia, who had knocked him out in the recent World Championship. After a tight first round which saw both wrestlers on their feet for most of the time, Narsingh led 1-0 at the break after Unurbat was penalized.
Just 20 seconds into the second round, Narsingh pounced on his opponent like a tiger chasing its prey and reeled off six points in a single manoeuvre to stretch his lead to 7-0. Unurbat was completely taken back at this sudden display of aggression and could only muster a single point from then on. Narsingh managed to score another couple towards the end to record a 9-1 win and avenge his previous loss in the World Championship.
Bajrang later expressed his delight at the victory and he said that he is hoping for more of the same in the next few weeks. He also stated that this league is a novel concept and is a great way for all wrestlers to prepare for the upcoming Olympics and gain valuable experience.
Narsingh too voiced his optimism and said that he was confident about finishing first in the competition. He praised his team’s performance and also stated that Sushil Kumar’s presence or absence in the opposition would have made no difference to the result.
The Yodhas coach was all smiles after a comfortable win and said that he is sure that his team will win the tournament and defeat any team that comes their way. Quite a bold thing to say after just the first match!
