PWL: Aleksander powers Haryana Hammers to third straight win

Haryana Hammers won 4-3, sending Delhi Sultan’s hope of making the Pro Wrestling League semis into a tailspin.

Haryana's Aleksander Khotsianivski (R) during his match against Delhi's Satender Malik.

Aleksander Khotsianivski of Ukraine won the 125kg super heavyweight category bout against Satender Malik 7-0 of Delhi Sultans, leading Haryana Hammers to their third straight win in the Pro Wrestling League Season 4 here on Tuesday.

Hammers won 4-3, sending Delhi’s hope of making the semis into a tailspin.

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Aleksander picked three points in the first round against the defensive Satender and added four more in the next with a near fall and a takedown to clinch the decider after Sakshi Malik got the better of double world championships bronze medallist Tatyana Omelchenko of Azerbaijan in the previous bout.

It was Sakshi’s toughest test so far in PWL-4 and she put up a determined effort to beat Tatyana 2-1 in a strategically planned 62kg bout by the Indian make the team score 3-3 before the last bout of the day. Sakshi played a very calculated bout mixed with aggression and caution to hold the Azerbaijan wrestler at bay.

Earlier, Delhi Sultans captain and current Russian champion Khetik Tsabalov started off cautiously but upped the ante in the second round to score a comfortable 3-1 win in the 74kg category over Haryana Hammers’ 2017 Commonwealth Championships silver medallist, Praveen, to give his team a winning start.

Junior world champion Anastasia Nichita brought the Hammers back into the tie scoring four takedown points in the first round and four more through leg-rolls and takedown in the second, to win her 57kg category bout against Katherina Zhydachivska 12-0.

Hammers’ world U23 silver medallist Ravi Kumar, who defeated Sandeep Tomar in his previous bout, was all over Pankaj in either rounds and won the men’s 57kg bout 5-0 to put his side 2-1 ahead.

National champion Pinki, who had pipped world champion Vanesa Kaladzinskaya in an earlier round, got the better of the 2017 Commonwealth championships gold medal winner Seema 4-2 in an intense women’s 53kg bout to bring Delhi back into the tie.

The 2018 world championships silver medallist, Ali Shabanov, showed tremendous skill and strength to get the better of Sultans’ Praveen 16-2 in a completely one-sided encounter in the 86kg category.