The NCR Punjab Royals were crowned champions of the Pro Wrestling League after they defeated the Haryana Hammers in the final by a narrow 5-4 scoreline. The Hammers, who were runners-up in the inaugural edition as well, led 3-4 with two bouts remaining, but Nirmala Devi and Jitendra helped the Royals reverse the tie and led their side to the title.
With two matches to go, Nirmala Devi and Jitendra of the Punjab Royals won their respective bouts in the women’s 48 kg and men’s 74 kg categories respectively. “I knew I had to win and I gave it my all,” said Devi in the post-match press conference. Jitendra said, “There was huge pressure as it was a do-or-die match. I’m happy it went well as I wanted to win for my team.”
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Georgian international Khinchegashvili praised his side’s performance over the course of the tournament. "It has been a great pleasure all this time, being here in PWL and now becoming champions! Our goal has been achieved," he said.
Coach Chandravijay Singh stated that it was their side’s overall balance that helped them win the competition. He said, “Our team may not have been the strongest on paper, but on the mat we showed what we are made of. Ours was a balanced team across all weight categories and that’s what ensured that we clinched the final.”
Haryana had been unbeaten throughout the course of the tournament, but they stumbled at the last hurdle. When the teams met in the league phase, the Hammers had recorded a comfortable 5-2 win, with Sandeep Tomar defeating Khinchegashvili, who is a gold medalist from the Rio Olympics.
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The Georgian reversed the result in the final and so did Nirmala Devi, who had lost to Indu Chaudhary in the league fixture by a 2-1 margin.
The Haryana side opened up a 2-0 lead after Abousalam Gadisov and Marwa Amri blanked out their rivals before Punjab skipper Vladimir Khinchegashvili recorded a 3-0 win over Sandeep Tomar. Magomed Kurbanaliev extended his side’s advantage before the Royals’ Vasilisa Marzaliuk and Ilias Bekbulatov made it all square in the fixture.
In a thrilling encounter, Haryana’s Sofia Mattsson defeated Nigerian Odunayo Adekuoroye, who had been unbeaten throughout the two seasons of the competition before this matchup. It was an enticing encounter as the Swede fought back in the last 10 seconds of the second round, much to the delight of a capacity crowd at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium.
Nirmala Devi displayed some aggressive grappling, as she took down her opponent and combined it with a rollover, almost pinning Indu Chaudhary in the process.
In the final bout, the scales were tilted in Jitendra's favour as he effected multiple takedowns to accumulate points at a rapid pace and consequently took the game away from Sumit, eventually winning by a 10-1 margin.
The Punjab Royals won a whopping sum of Rs 1.90 crore as prize money and the grapplers were awarded individuals gold medals in the post-match prize ceremony. The runners up – the Haryana Hammers were awarded Rs 1.10 crore.
Another season of the Pro Wrestling League came to its conclusion and the final was a fitting one, showcasing some top notch wrestling watched by a rapturous full-capacity crowd at the stadium. This edition saw many Indian prospects such as Utkarsh Kale and Sandeep Tomar step into the limelight, which bodes well for the future.
