The eleventh day of the Pro Wrestling League featured the CDR Punjab Royals take on the Bangalore Yodhahas at the Eklavya Sports Complex, Gautam Buddh University in Greater Noida. As the league stage comes closer to its finish, the table has started taking shape and this match becomes important for both sides as they look to seal a spot in the top four.
The opening bout of this crucial tie was the 97 kg men’s category with Mausam Khatri taking on 2015 World Championships bronze medalist Pavlo Oliynik. The Ukrainian put Bangalore ahead in the overall scoreline after a narrow victory against his resurgent opponent.
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With two attacks to Khatri’s right leg, Oliynik led 4-0 at the end of the first round. In the second, Khatri fought back to make it 4-4 with 20 seconds to go, despite some resolute defending by the Yodhahas grappler.
No further points were scored and Oliynik was awarded the win, on account of having made more clutch plays. Bengaluru doubled their lead as Alyssa Lampe defeated Yana Rattigan in the women’s 48 kg category bout in a see-saw battle that ended at an astonishing scoreline of 24-14.
The match began at an electric pace and both grapplers attacked and reversed as the American led after the first round at 16-10.In the second round, it soon became 18-10, but Rattigan fought back and reduced the margin to just four points.
Lampe then dug deep and with an excellent series of moves, reeled off six points in a row to end the bout at 24-14 with 17 seconds still left to play. The third clash saw the Punjab side register their first win of the fixture in the 57 kg category as Vladimir Khinchegashvili outmuscled Sandeep Tomar of the Royals.
After a slow start, the Georgian made it 6-0 in the third minute before Tomar recovered a couple. Khinchegashvili was clinical in the second round and worked his way to a 12-2 lead, which brought an early end to the bout.
Tomar tried hard to outwit his opponent but the reigning world champion was having none of it and won by technical fall. Next up was a hard-fought and tense bout between two Indian grapplers in the 53 kg category - Priyanka Phogat for Punjab and Lalita Sherawat for Bengaluru.
It was Sherawat who made a stunning last-second comeback to win 3-2 and extend her side’s lead. After a first round that ended 1-0 in favour of Sherawat, Phogat managed to score a couple after a monumental effort resulting from a right leg grab.
The Yodhahas grappler gave her all to fight back and managed to overturn the deficit at the very last second of the bout, to clinch a dramatic win. The Yodhahas sealed the win in the 125 kg clash as Modzmanashvili Davit eased to a comfortable 5-0 over Punjab’s Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat.
The telling move came towards the end of the first round as Davit picked up four points with a powerful throw. The Georgian defended well to clinch victory, thus taking his team to an unassailable 4-1 lead.
With her team out of the tie, Punjab captain Geeta Phogat defeated World Champion Yulia Ratkevich in the 58 kg category clash. Cheered on by a packed crowd chanting her name, Geeta came back from 0-2 down to end the first round at 4-2 in her favour.
In a titanic second round, Ratkevich quickly fought back to lead 4-6 and it looked like the end for Phogat. But like a true champion, she equalized with 45 seconds to go and then picked up three more points to make it 9-6. Despite a late rally by her Azerbaijani opponent, Phogat held on for the win as the bout ended at 9-8.
The last bout of the match saw the Yodhahas add the icing to the cake after their win in the 74 kg category clash. It was a battle between two generations of Indian wrestling as seasoned veteran Narsingh Yadav took on rising star Parveen Rana, with the former claiming a 6-3 win.
After a reversal, Yadav made it 2-0 early and then doubled it soon to close the first round at 4-0. Rana fought back to halve the deficit but Yadav had the final say as he won by a three-point margin. Bengaluru are now third on the table after the resounding 5-2 win, with the Royals behind them in fourth place.
The spectators surely deserve a mention after tonight’s action as the league saw a record attendance that cheered on every grapple and reversal to end the Noida leg on a special note.
