Haryana Hammers set up summit clash with Revanta's Mumbai Garuda for the title

Rajneesh winning his bout against Rana

The KD Jadhav Stadium was packed to the brim with over 5,000 spectators witnessing the second semifinal of the Pro Wrestling League. It was the Haryana Hammers facing off against the CDR Punjab Royals and it was the Royals who had run out 5-2 winners when the teams had faced off four days ago in the league stage.

The Hammers were dealt a serious blow as their captain and icon player Yogeshwar Dutt had to withdraw from the tie after suffering an injury. His replacement Vishal Rana, was not good enough as he lost by technical fall against Punjab’s Rajneesh in the 65 kg category match.

Rajneesh was dominant throughout the duration of the bout and with a telling takedown in the first round, he led 8-2 going into the breather. Halfway through the second, he rounded Rana and rolled him over to secure four points and take the score to 12-2. With the margin reaching the ten-point mark, the bout was stopped and the Royals took the lead in the semifinal.

In a highly defensive and strategic bout, the Royals doubled their lead thanks to a masterful performance by Vasilisa Marzaliuk in the 69 kg category clash. Her opponent, Geetika Jakhar could not score any points due to a serious height disadvantage and some solid grappling by her opponent.

The Belarusian led 2-0 after Jakhar was penalized twice for passive play. This lead was soon doubled as the Royals grappler pushed her opponent out of the playing area twice. Both players remained on their feet throughout the allotted six minutes, but Marzaliuk showed why she is the reigning European champion, as she produced a clinical display to win 4-0.

The Haryana side looked down and out in the third bout as well as Andriitesey Valerii trailed 1-4 in the second round to Mausam Khatri in the 97 kg category clash. Valerii had taken a 1-0 lead but Khatri scored four points with a vicious takedown and went into the break with a three-point advantage.

But midway through the second, it looked as though Punjab would triple their overall lead but Valerii changed that thought with a ferocious takedown. Grabbing his opponent by the waist, the Ukrainian downed Khatri in emphatic manner and pinned both his shoulders on to the mat. With this win by fall, the Hammers came back into the fixture in fine fashion.

Next up was another roller-coaster clash as Haryana fought back to level the tie with a fine display by stand-in skipper Tatyana Kit. Facing Priyanka Phogat in the 53 kg category bout, she took a 1-0 lead thanks to a penalty point but Phogat fought back to round her and then roll her. This meant that it was Phogat who went 1-4 ahead after the first round.

Kit, with the crowd cheering her on, reduced the margin to 3-4 before taking the lead with a fine takedown. In the same move, she pinned Phogat’s shoulders on to the mat, thus prompting the referee to stop the match with 40 seconds left on the clock and award the win to the Ukrainian. With two successive wins by fall, the Hammers were now right back into the semifinal.

The 125 kg bout was up next as the Hammers’ Hitender took on Punjab’s baby-faced assassin Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat. The Royals surged ahead in the tie as the Mongolian scripted a fine 5-1 win.

Leading 1-0 after the first round, Chuluunbat struck the telling blow in the second after rolling over his opponent twice. He now led by five and was able to see out the bout safely, as Hitender could only recover a solitary point.

With a win absolute necessary to stay in contention, Haryana’s Oksana Herhel, the reigning world champion registered a third win by fall for her side and kept them alive in the semifinal. Her opponent in this 58 kg clash Geeta Phogat, to whom she had lost in the league phase, stood absolutely no chance as the Ukrainian pinned her down emphatically.

Halfway past the two-minute mark, Herhel floored Phogat with a spectacular takedown and despite stubborn resistance from the Indian, she pinned her successfully and avenged her previous defeat at the hands of the Royals skipper.

It was do-or-die for both sides in the final bout and facing off in the 74 kg category were Livan Lopez Azcuy for the Hammers and Parveen Rana for the Royals. Lopez led 2-0 after first round, but the deficit was halved after he was penalized in the second.

The crowd was going wild at each move by both grapplers and after some twisting and turning, the Cuban managed to pick up another point to make it 3-1. Towards the end as Rana went all in, Lopez reversed an advance to round his opponent and score, ultimately winning the bout 5-1.

After a nerve-wracking semifinal, it was the Haryana Hammers who came up trumps and will now face the Mumbai Garuda in the final tomorrow. Despite Yogeshwar Dutt not being available, the Hammers showed great resolve to come back from 2-0 down and win in thrilling fashion.

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Edited by Staff Editor