Pro Wresting League: Haryana Hammers beats MP Yodha

It was Haryana Hammers' second win this season.

Sandeep Tomar (in picture) lost to Ravi Kumar has Haryana Hammers won 4-3 against MP Yodha. [File image]

Ravi Kumar, silver medallist at the 2018 World U-23 Championships, beat Sandeep Tomar in the men’s 57kg category to hand Haryana Hammers a 4-3 win over MP Yodha in a Pro Wrestling League (PWL) match here on Saturday.

It was Haryana Hammers' second win in this year’s PWL.

Anastasia Nichita of Haryana Hammers won an important bout against Pooja Dhanda in an action-packed encounter where the pendulum swung constantly from one side to the other. Pooja, known for her memorable comebacks, was trailing 0-3 after first round but the world champion didn’t let the Indian dictate terms. She hung on to win the 8-7 and push the tie to the decider.

Earlier, Ali Shabanov of Haryana Hammers, bronze medallist at the 2018 World Championships, played an aggressive first round in his 86kg bout against Deepak of MP Yodha. He pocketed eight points in a combination of take downs and near falls. Shabanov didn’t give Deepak any chance of a comeback in the second round and put Hammers 1-0 ahead.

MP Yodha’s Colombian wrestler Andrea Olaya clinched the keenly fought women’s 76kg bout against the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kiran after some drama. Kiran was leading 3-1 with just 30 seconds to go on the clock but the Colombian not only broke Kiran’s resistance but also bagged three more points with a near fall to win 6-3 and tie the score at 1-1.

The 65kg men’s bout between MP Yodha’s Haji Aliyev and Rajneesh was much more closely fought than the final scoreline suggests. At 2-1, it looked like Rajneesh was on his way to cause a major upset, but Aliyev’s experience helped him win the bout 5-2 with an escape and a takedown that put Yodhas ahead in the tie.

Fiercely fought contest

The best bout of the evening was between MP Yodha’s Elise Monolova and Tatyana Omelchenko of Haryana Hammers, in women's 62kg category. Both the Azerbaijan wrestlers showed tremendous skills and excellent manoeuvres before Tatyana clinched the bout 6-5 and helped Haryana Hammers restore parity at 2-2.

In a dramatic comeback, Vasil Mikhailov put MP Yodha ahead snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Praveen Rana of Haryana Hammers in the men’s 74kg category. In a high-powered bout, Mikhailov was trailing 5-6 with less than 10 seconds on the clock, but he turned it around with a near fall and won the bout 7-6.