PWL: Unbeaten Haryana blazes to the final

Last year’s runner-up Haryana Hammers booked a spot in the final of the second edition of the Pro Wrestling League with a convincing 6-3 win against newcomer Jaipur Ninjas, in the first semifinal of the competition here on Tuesday.

While Ritu Phogat overcame Indu Chaudhary in the 48kg, Jaipur Ninjas couldn't overpower the Haryana Hammers.

Last year’s runner-up Haryana Hammers booked a spot in the final of the second edition of the Pro Wrestling League with a convincing 6-3 win against newcomer Jaipur Ninjas, in the first semifinal of the competition here on Tuesday.

With all nine weight categories in play – unlike the league stages when either team could block one category each – table-topper Haryana proved its superiority, being the only team to remain unbeaten in the PWL so far. It was close till the sixth bout with both teams winning three bouts apiece.

While Ritu Phogat overcame Indu Chaudhary in the 48kg and Jenny Fransson beat Kiran in the 75kg for Jaipur, Marwa Amri had an easy 10-0 win against Pooja Dhanda in the 58kg. Jakob Makarashvili beat Sumit Sehrawat 10-0 for the only other Jaipur win.

It was the seventh bout of the day — in the 57kg category for men — that turned the tide in Haryana’s favour with Sandeep Tomar managing to down a fighting Utkarsh Kale 5-4 with a take down in the very last second. Leading 3-0 at the end of Round One, Tomar was thrown down by Kale for four points and was on course for a crucial win for Jaipur before Tomar managed to get behind his opponent, at the edge of the mat, just as the referee signalled end of the bout.

That changed the tie in Haryana’s favour with Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sofia Mattsson and captain Abdusalam Gadisov extending the team’s lead. Mattsson ended her bout in the 53kg against Betzabeth Arguello in just 2:13 minutes, pinning her opponent to the mat while leading 8-0. Gadisov, unbeaten so far in the competition, led 4-0 before Elizabar Odikadze fought back to level scores and seemed set to upset the former World Champion before he was penalised for a foul and conceded a point, and the bout, in the last five seconds.

The results:

Haryana Hammers bt Jaipur Ninjas 6-3

Women: 48kg: Ritu Phogat (Jai) bt Indu Chaudhary (Har) 8-0; 53kg: Sofia Mattsson (Har) bt Betzabeth Arguello (Jai) by Fall; 58kg: Marwa Amri (Har) bt Pooja Dhanda (Jai) 10-0; 75kg: Jenny Fransson (Jai) bt Kiran (Har) 8-0;

Men: 57kg: Sandeep Tomar (Har) bt Utkarsh Kale (Jai) 5-4; 65kg: Rajneesh (Har) bt Rahul Mann (Jai) 8-6; 70kg: Magomed Kurbanaliev (Har) bt Vinod Kumar Omprakash (Jai) 5-0; 74kg: Jakob Makarashvili (Jai) bt Sumit Sehrawat (Har) 10-0; 97kg: Abdusalam Gadisov (Har) bt Elizbar Odikadze (Jai) 5-4.