Mumbai beat Haryana to win inaugural PWL

A packed house of 6000-odd witnessed some thrilling stuff even as Haryana Hammers, enjoying the privilege of a huge support from the galleries, fell short of pulling it off against a stronger camp.

Mumbai Garuda's Ritu Phogat on way to win against Nirmala Devi of Haryana Hammers in the final of the Pro Wrestling League.

Revanta Mumbai Garuda kept its blemishless record intact in taming a spirited Haryana Hammers 7-2 to lift the inaugural Pro Wrestling League at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.

A packed house of 6000-odd witnessed some thrilling stuff even as Haryana Hammers, enjoying the privilege of a huge support from the galleries, fell short of pulling it off against a stronger camp. From the time Amit Dhankar put Mumbai Garuda with a breezy win over Vishal Rana, the Hammers played the catching up game for the rest of the evening.

It boiled down to the strength of Odikadze Elizbar in the men’s 97 kg bout to stop the Hammers’ challenge that came in the shape of a strong Andriitesey Valeri. They matched each other in strength and endurance on the mat but the Georgia wrestler hung on to an early lead to overcome the Ukrainian.

The presence of Virender Sehwag and Vijender Singh in the Haryana camp and Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma added to the glamour on the concluding day of the wrestling festival that saw some of the best drawn from the world over. The darling of the crowd was Nigeria’s Odunayo Adekuoroye. She clinched a crucial bout against Tatyana Kit with a 9-0 margin to pave the way for Elizbar to give his best and clinch the issue.

Odunayo, with a figure more of an athlete than wrestler, was too agile and technically superior to Tatyana. The Nigerian was quick to establish superiority and her aggression paid off richly as Tatyana looked clueless and became too defensive and conceded ground with every passing moment. At the end of the bout, Odunayo, hardly showing any signs of fatigue, won the hearts of the audience with a lively jig. It was to her credit that she earned the applause even from the rival fans and rounded off her appearance with a song. It was a perfect precursor to Mumbai Garuda’s expected title win.

Results:

Revanta Mumbai Garuda beat Haryana Hammers 7-2 (Men’s 63 kg: Amit Dhankar bt Vishal Rana 12-0; Women’s 58 kh: Sakshi Malik lost to Oksana Herhel by fall; Men’s 74 kg : Pardeep lost to Livian Lopez Azcuy 11-6; Women’s 69 kg: Adelin Gray bt Geetika Jakhar 10-0; Men’s 125 kg: Giorgi Sakandelidze bt Hitender 10-0; Women’s 53 kh: Odunayo Adekuoroye bt Tatyana Kit 9-0; Men’s 97 kg: Odikadze Elizbar bt Adriitesey Valeri 6-4; Women’s 48kg: Ritu Phogat beat Nirmal Devi 4-4; Men’s 57kg: Rahula Aware bt Nitin 6-3.)