PWL Season 2: Royals edge past Maharathi

NCR Punjab Royals dictated terms on Day Four of the Pro Wrestling League Season 2, eking out a 4-3 win over Mumbai Maharathi at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Stadium in the capital on Thursday.

The opening bout of the tie was won by the Royals as their captain Vladimir Khinchegashvili used all his experience to overcome a stiff challenge from Mumbai’s Rahul Aware. The Maharashtra grappler employed several tactics to score points, but Vladimir — gold medallist at the Rio Olympics — was the better opponent on the day, winning the bout 7-3.

Mumbai skipper and 2016 Olympics champion Erica Wiebe help Mumbai draw level, staging a remarkable comeback to defeat Vasilisa Marzaliuk 4-2 in the women’s 75kg division. A highly engrossing bout followed as home grapplers Pankaj Rana from Punjab and Mumbai’s Pritam fought neck-and-neck in both the rounds.

Eventually, Rana came out on the top clinching the 70kg men’s bout 9-8. The fourth bout was contested between Punjab’s Nirmla Devi and Mumbai’s Carolina Castillo Hidalgo in the 48kg women’s category. The 33-year-old Nirmla, a 2010 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, used all her experience to win 3-0. By virtue of this win, Punjab went up 3-1 in the tie. For her brilliance on the mat, Nirmla was adjudged the player of the day.

Following this, Mumbai Maharathi’s Vikas Kumar took on Punjab’s Togrul Asgarov in a crucial fifth bout. Asgarov, who won gold in the 2012 London Olympics and a silver in Ri, proved too good for Vikas as Punjab nailed the bout 7-3 and gained an unsurpassable 4-1 lead in the tie. Mumbai’s Sarita kept fighting to salvage her team’s pride, as she won the 58kg women’s category 2-1 against Punjab’s Manju Kumari. In the final bout, Mumbai’s Pavlo Oliynik defeated Punjab’s Krishan Kumar 2-0 in the heavyweight 97kg men’s category.