The inaugural season of the Pro Wrestling League came to a sparkling end on its eighteenth day at the jam-packed KD Jadhav Stadium in New Delhi.
In the final that would have nine bouts instead of the usual seven, the unbeaten Revanta Mumbai Garuda were taking on the Haryana Hammers, who were playing without their injured captain Yogeshwar Dutt.
His replacement Vishal Rana was comprehensively defeated in the first bout of the final as Mumbai’s Amit Dhankar won by technical fall in the 65 kg category clash. He had established an 8-0 lead in the first round after rolling over Rana twice, and completed the win ten seconds into the second after a takedown that fetched him four points, ending the bout at 12-0.
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The Hammers came storming back in the second bout as reigning world champion Oksana Herhel defeated Sakshi Malik in the 58 kg category. The Indian had established a 4-0 lead after rounding her opponent twice, but it was to be in vain as Herhel performed a stunning one-arm takedown and pinned Malik to the mat to end the bout in the first round itself.
It was the Haryana side who took the lead after the third bout as Livan Lopez Azcuy made a fantastic comeback to defeat Pardeep in the 74 kg category. Trailing 2-6, the Cuban made it six points all with a superb takedown at the end of the first round. He then reeled off five points without reply in the action-packed second to claim an 11-6 victory.
Mumbai captain Adeline Gray rounded off her PWL campaign with another dominant display after prevailing against Geetika Jakhar in the 69 kg bout. ‘
She led 5-0 after the first round and doubled it in the second to record a 10-0 win by technical fall with almost a minute and a half left. This now meant that the sides were locked at 2-2 in the final with five bouts remaining.
Another 10-0 win for the Garuda saw them take the lead on the night as Giorgi Sakandelidze outclassed Hitender in the 125 kg category. The Georgian raced to a 6-0 lead in the first 30 seconds of the bout and won by technical fall late in the second minute after stretching his lead to ten points.
The Garuda were now just one win away from the title after Odunayo Adekuoroye defeated Tatyana Kit in the 53 kg category. She made light work of her Ukrainian opponent and did not concede any points in the six minutes. She led 5-0 after the first round and added four more in the next to complete a comfortable 9-0 win.
With their fourth win a row, the Revanta Mumbai Garuda took an unassailable 5-2 lead in the fixture and as a result, clinched the first ever Pro Wrestling League title.
Odikadze Elizbar bested Andriitesey Valerii in the 97 kg category matchup as he registered a 6-4 win. The Georgian led 4-2 after the first round and defended well afterwards to hold on and win his team the crucial bout.
The next two bouts were essentially dead rubbers, but the Mumbai side piled on the misery on the Hammers with their fifth consecutive win. In the 48 kg category, Ritu Phogat came up trumps against Nirmal Devi in a tightly-contested bout.
Devi led 1-0 at the break and 4-2 in the last minute, but Phogat fought back to level the scores in the dying moments and was awarded the win by the referee.
In the final bout of the final and the 128th of the tournament, the Garuda stamped their authority as the claimed another win to close out the final at a 7-2 scoreline. Rahul Aware ousted Nitin Rathee in the 57 kg category clash after surviving an early scare. He trailed 2-0 early in the first round but fought back to claim a 6-3 victory.
The Mumbai Garuda romped to the first ever Pro Wrestling League trophy after winning all their bouts, right from the league stage to the final. As for the Hammers, they sorely missed the presence of their captain, but will take pride from what has been a wonderful campaign
Revanta's Mumbai Garuda vs Haryana Hammers | ||||
Day 18 - Pro Wrestling LeagueGrand Finale | ||||
Haryana Hammers | Revanta's Mumbai Garuda | |||
Weight Category | Name of Wrestler | Points | Name of Wrestler | Points |
65 kgs | Vishal Rana | 0 | Amit Dhankar | 12 |
58 kgs | Oksana Herhel | 4 (Victory By Fall) | Sakshi Malik | 4 |
74 kgs | Livan Lopez Azcuy | 11 | Pardeep | 6 |
69 kgs + | Geetika Jakhar | 0 | Adeline Gray | 10 |
125 kgs | Hitender | 0 | Giorgi Sakandelidze | 10 |
53 kgs | Tatyana Kit | 0 | Odunayo Adekuoroye | 9 |
97 kgs | Andriitesey Valerii | 4 | Odikadze Elizbar | 6 |
48 Kgs | Nirmal Devi | 4 | Ritu Phogat | 4 |
57 kgs | Nitin | 2 | Rahul Aware | 6 |
Final score - Revanta's Mumbai Garuda defeat Haryana Hammers (7-2) | ||||
Wrestler of the series (women) - Odunayo Adekuoroye of Revanta's Mumbai Garuda and Vinesh Phogat of Dilli Veer | ||||
Wrestler of the series (men) - Narsingh Yadav of Bengaluru Yodhas | ||||
Icon mentor of the Pro Wrestling League 2015 - Yogeshwar Dutt of Haryana Hammers | ||||
