6 most exciting bouts from the league phase of Pro Wrestling League

After two weeks of non-stop wrestling and a total of 105 bouts, the league stage of the inaugural Pro Wrestling League came to a close. All six teams faced each other once and the Revanta Mumbai Garuda qualified for the semifinals in top spot after winning all five fixtures. They are joined by the Haryana Hammers and CDR Punjab Royals, who are at three wins each. The last side to make it to the knockouts are the Bengaluru Yodhas with four points out of a possible ten. The teams led by sisters Babita Kumari and Vinesh Phogat - UP Warriors and Mangalayatan University Dilli Veer, miss out on the final stages as they could only manage one win each.Over the fifteen days, we have been treated to wrestling of the highest quality. Some bouts have been closely fought and some have been completely one-sided, but there are no doubts over the supreme quality on display. With just three days left in the competition, we take a look at the six of the most exciting bouts that have taken place during the league stages.

#1 Geeta Phogat vs Sakshi Malik (58 kg)

Geeta Phogat vs Sakshi Malik was a barn burner

The first day of the Pro Wrestling League saw the CDR Punjab Royals taking on the Revanta Mumbai Garuda and featured one of the most exciting bouts in the tournament, setting the tone for what was to follow in the coming days.

Royals skipper Geeta Phogat took on Mumbai’s Sakshi Malik, who came into the match as the underdog. Malik pulled off a major upset on the very first day itself as she displayed some fantastic and aggressive wrestling to stun her seasoned opponent.

In the first round, Sakshi who gained the early initiative and took a 2-0 lead and later reversed skilfully to make it 4-0 at the end of the first round. The second round saw Phogat halve the deficit very quickly before Malik struck the killer blow.

With an amazing takedown, the Garuda grappler reeled off four points in a single move and extended her lead to 8-2. Phogat huffed and puffed and came up with a four-pointer of her own and brought the deficit down to two points.

The clock was ticking fast and with the last move of the bout, Phogat equalized and made it 8-8. However, it was in vain as Malik was adjudged the better wrestler on the day and was awarded the win,

#2 Babita Kumari vs Liliya Horishna (53 kg)

The last day at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana saw a terrific encounter between UP Warriors captain Babita Kumari and Dilli Veer’s Liliya Horishna in the 53 kg category. Babita looked to be down and out but showed great courage and determination to pull off a fantastic win in the last moments of the bout.

Horishna, who is the reigning European champion and a bronze medalist at the most recent World Championships took an early 4-0 lead in the first round, only for Babita to equalize later and end the round all square.

Then early in the second period, the Ukrainian downed and rounded Babita to gain two points. In the same move, she locked Babita’s ankles in a vice-like grip and proceeded to roll her opponent. The hapless UP skipper was turned around three times, which meant six points to Horishna and a commanding lead of 12-4.

Babita was two points away from a defeat by technical fall, but she somehow clawed her way back into the game and recouped four points to make it 12-8 with a minute left. She then took her rival out of the playing area to gain one point and made another takedown, which meant it was 12-11 with 30 seconds to go.

With the crowd chanting her name, Babita threw the kitchen sink at her opponent and clinched the decisive couple with seconds left. It was challenged but to no avail, as the Warriors’ captain took the bout and went on to win the fixture 4-3.

#3 Nitin Rathee vs Sandeep Tomar (57 kg)

The venue was the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Manesar as Nitin Rathee of the Haryana Hammers defeated fellow compatriot Sandeep Tomar of the Bengaluru Royals. It was a see-saw match as the bout came into life in the second round and both grapplers had a chance to win it till the very last second.

In the first round, there was not much action as both wrestlers looked to take a measure of the other and wait for their opponent to make a mistake. It ended 0-1 in favour of Tomar, who earned the point through Rathee being penalized for passivity.

The second round was completely opposite to the first as Rathee established a 2-1 lead just ten seconds after the whistle. He looked to have taken the bout of Tomar’s grasp as he made it 7-1 in his favour with a fabulous takedown.

Tomar opted to chip off at the lead one point at a time, as he reduced the deficit to 7-6 with a series of penalty points and pushouts. Then against the run of play, Rathee picked up a couple with a smooth reversal and extended the lead to three points.

With 30 seconds to go, Tomar made it 9-7 and then 9-8 with ten seconds left! Rathee fought tooth and nail to prevent any further leakage of points and somehow managed to maintain his composure and claim a narrow 9-8 win.

#4 Yogeshwar Dutt vs Bajrang Punia (65 kg)

In the same fixture as the previous bout, Haryana’s captain and icon player Yogeshwar Dutt faced off against the Royals’ Bajrang Punia in the 65 kg weight category. Not only was it a clash between two of India’s best wrestlers, it was also an emotional one for both as they are the best of friends and have been wrestling together since their childhood days.

The bout was billed as a meeting between student and mentor, as senior Yogeshwar clinched a close victory in the dying moments. It was a low-scoring affair, but the wrestling on display was of the highest quality and the pressure was heightened due to the brotherly relation between the two stellar grapplers.

Both knew their opponent’s game inside out along with their tricks and tactics, which made it quite a compelling game. The first round saw Yogeshwar clinch a 1-0 lead from a passivity penalty against Bajrang.

There was some strong grappling and both fighters displayed their phenomenal upper body strengths as points were scarce and hard to get. Yogeshwar attacked Bajrang’s right ankle, but the Royals man overturned it in a jiffy to reverse and make it 1-2. With just 20 seconds to go, Yogeshwar had the final say as he rounded a grounded Bajrang to take the bout 3-2 in front of a capacity crowd.

#5 Geeta Phogat vs Yulia Ratkevich (58 kg)

The Punjab skipper makes it into the list once again but this time around she was on the winning side as she defeated Bengaluru Royals’ Yulia Ratekevich in the 58 kg category match. Ratkevich, who is a five-time World Championship medalist, was edged out by a one-point margin by Phogat.

In an eventful first round, it was the Azerbaijani who claimed the initiative after she spun around her opponent’s back to take a 0-2 lead. Phogat fought back with a right ankle attack to equalize and gained a further two points to end the round in a 4-2 lead.

Ratkevich got level after just 25 seconds into the next round and soon made it 4-6 in her favour with a reversal. It looked as if she was in control, but Phogat brought the scores level at 6-6 with just three-fourths of a minute left.

The Royals captain then made it 8-6 after rolling over Ratkevich and took a three-point lead with a pushout. The bout looked over before the Royals grappler reduced the lead and made it 9-8! In a frenetic last few seconds, Phogat held her nerve despite some extreme pressure and claimed victory.

#6 Oksana Herhel vs Geeta Phogat (58 kg)

In the last bout of this list, once again we have Punjab Royals’ Geeta Phogat for her stunning comeback against Haryana Hammers’ Oksana Herhel in the 58 kg category. It was Punjab’s last match in the league stage and under the watchful eyes of co-owner and legendary actor Dharmendra, the team captain defeated the reigning World Champion.

Phogat took a 1-0 lead in the first round, but Herhel made it 1-2 in her favour with a fabulous move in the last few seconds. She then proceeded to attempt to pin Phogat down on both shoulders and looked to have ended the bout there and then, only for the referee to blow the whistle for the end of the round.

A visibly shaken Phogat must have been thanking the stars for the lucky escape as he came back for the second period determined to fight back. She did precisely that as she made it 3-2 and followed it up with another attack to make it 5-2.

She seemed to be in cruise control now, but Herhel fought back like a wounded tiger and with 30 seconds to go, she performed a tremendous takedown on Phogat to capture four points. The scoreline now read 5-6 in the Hammers grappler’s favour.

Phogat, like in her previous bouts, somehow managed to dig deep into her reserves and scored the final points of the bout with four seconds remaining. The Royals skipper clinched an amazing 7-6 win in the dying moments after she was almost pinned down in the first round.

Edited by Staff Editor