PWL: Amit Dhanker steers Punjab Royals to victory

Amit Dhanker defeated Parveen Rana to guide Punjab Royals to a 4-3 win over Haryana Hammers in the Pro Wrestling League 2019 on Saturday.

Amit Dhanker of Punjab Royals wins it for his team in the final and deciding bout against Haryana Hammers Praveen Rana.

Amit Dhanker pipped Parveen Rana 4-2 in the deciding nail-biting men's 74kg bout as Punjab Royals defeated Haryana Hammers 4-3 in the Pro Wrestling League at the Gautam Buddha University indoor hall here on Saturday.

As the PWL celebrated Republic Day by playing a video in which the foreign athletes, dressed in traditional Indian costume, sang the National anthem, Dhanker snatched two points in the closing moments to spread joy in Royals camp.

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World under-23 championships silver medallist Ravi Kumar continued his unbeaten impressive run to defeat Nitin Rathi 9-2 in the men's 57kg class and give Hammers the lead.

Olympian Cynthia Vescan overcame a strong challenge from the burly Kiran to secure a 4-3 victory in the women's 76kg duel.

Bajrang Punia got the better of an equally experienced Rajneesh in a good contest. Bajrang picked up two points in about 30 seconds.  Bajrang's slip-up in the execution of a leg attack saw Rajneesh counter-attack to level the scores in the second round.

However, Bajrang restored his lead through a takedown and won the men's 65kg battle to put Royals ahead.

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World junior champion Anastasia Nichita of Moldova thrashed Bulgarian Mimi Hritsova to make it 2-2. Olympic medallist Dato Magarishvili spectacularly beat World championships medal winner Ali Shabanov 7-4 to give Royals an edge.

Seema defeated Anju 8-2 in women's 53kg as the tie was decided in the last match.

The result: Punjab Royals bt Haryana Hammers 4-3 (M57kg: Nitin Rathi lost to Ravi Kumar 2-9; W76kg: Cynthia Vescan bt Kiran 4-3; M65kg: Bajrang Punia bt Rajneesh Dalal 6-2; W57kg: Mimi Hristova lost to Anastasia Nichita bt 0-13; M86kg: Dato Magarishvili bt Ali Shabanov 7-4; W53kg: Anju lost to Seema 2-8; M74kg: Amit Dhanker bt Parveen Rana 4-2).