UP Dangal crash out of Pro Wrestling League
UP Dangal’s journey at the Pro Wrestling League Season 2 comes to a screeching halt! At the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi yesterday, they were defeated 5-2 by the NCR Punjab Royals. The Sportsrush reviews the whole clash.
Punjab gained the early advantage when they decided to block the 58 kg women’s category. This would rule out Indian star wrestler Geeta Phogat from contesting, much to the chagrin of the fans in attendance. Similarly, UP Dangal went forward and blocked the 97 kg men’s category, thereby blocking the men’s heavyweight category.
Superstars in attendance, Geeta misses out again
Geeta Phogat, the main protagonist of the blockbuster movie Dangal was not keeping well for a few days. She was forced to sit out even today making her fans wait even longer to catch her in action.
Vociferous in his support for his team UP Dangal was cricketer Rohit Sharma. The owners of the other team in the clash, Punjab Royals, the legendary Dharmendra was also seen. Accompanying him in the dugout was his son, Bobby Deol.
First two bouts
The first bout of the evening was fought between UP’s Amit Kumar Dahiya and Punjab captain Vladimir Khinchegashvili. The vastly experienced and also the Rio Gold medalist easily outmaneuvered his Indian opponent to win 6-2. However, UP roared back in the next bout as skipper Elitsa Yankova pulled one back against Nirmala Devi.
Punjab dominate thereafter, winning 5-2
However, it was Punjab all through from here on. It begun with an incredible upset. Jitendra stunned Tariel Gaphrindashvili 6-1 in the 74kg category. The fiesty Odunayo Folasade Adekuoroye followed suit with the demolition of UP’s Pinki. She triumphed 16-0. Pinki, who replaced Babita Kumari, was no match for the 2014 CWG gold medalist.
In the next bout, Ilias Bekbulatov started his PWL journey in style. He defeated Andrey Kviatkovski 6-3 in the 65 kg men’s category. Amit Dhankar would then salvage some pride for UP by pulling off a victory against Pankaj Rana. However, in the last match, Vasilisa Marzaliuk prevailed over Maria Mamashuk 3-1. This meant Punjab won 5-2.
This defeat means that the UP Dangal are now out of the contention for a semi-final spot. Meanwhile, the Punjab Royals are looking strong and geared up for the battles ahead!
