Dilli end league stage on winning note

Bengaluru, Dilli Veer rode on a superb performance from World Championships silver medallist Navruzov Ikhtiyor to register their maiden victory, edging past Bengaluru Yodhas 4-3, in the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) here today.
Both teams were locked 3-3 when Ikhtiyor (men’s 65kg) overpowered the talented Bajrang Punia 10-1 to take Dilli to victory.
Dilli thus completed the league stage with two points. Today’s defeat will not affect the Yodhas’ prospects in the tournament as they had already cemented their spot in the semifinals. Thursday’s contest between Haryana Hammers and Mumbai Garudas — the last of the league stage — will determine the semifinals line-up.
Dilli were handed the early lead by Erdenebat Bekhbayar as the 2015 World Championships bronze medallist from Mongolia outclassed Bengaluru’s Sandeep Tomar 7-0 in the men’s 57kg division.
Liliya Horishna beat Bengaluru’s Lalita Sherawat 11-6 in the women’s 53kg section to increase Dilli’s lead.
Horishna took a 5-0 lead early on. But Sherawat fought back to take a 6-5 lead before Horishna fought back to claim a 7-6 advantage at the break. The Ukrainian did not concede any points in the second round and was clearly the superior wrestler.
Davit Modzmanashvili pulled one back for Bengaluru as he overpowered Krishan Kumar by technical superiority (10-0) in the men’s 125kg category. Modzmanashvili showcased awesome strength, wrapping up the issue within 64 seconds.
Yuliya Ratkevich (women’s 58kg) brought Bengaluru back on level terms with an upset 3-1 win over current world champion Yesilirmak Elif Jale. Trailing 0-1 after the opening round, the Swedish girl fought back in the second period and snatched the winning points in the last minute of the bout.
Bengaluru’s captain and icon player Narsingh Pancham Yadav put the hosts in the lead by outclassing Dinesh Kumar 8-4 in the men’s 74kg category. Kumar produced a successful counter-attack and pushed Yadav out of the playing area to draw first blood. He then used the single-leg hold to bring down Yadav to take two more points.
But Yadav fought back in the last minute of the first round to lead 4-3 at the break. Yadav — the only Indian medallist at this year’s World Championships — showcased superb technique in the second round to clinch a dominant victory and maintain his all-win record in the PWL.
Commonwealth Games champion Vinesh Phogat (women’s 48kg) equalised for Dilli Veer as she produced an upset by outclassing Alyssa Lampe of Bengaluru by technical superiority (10-0).
It all boiled down to the final bout of the day and Ikhtiyor silenced the raucous home crowd in the packed stadium by outwrestling Punia of Bengaluru 10-1 in the men’s 65kg class.
Punia took a one-point lead early on, but his Uzbek opponent used the single-leg hold on two occasions to take a 3-1 lead by the end of the first round. Punia was more aggressive in the second, but Ikhtiyor defended brilliantly. — IANS
Pwl points table
Team PL W PTS
Mumbai 4 4 8
Punjab 5 3 6
Haryana 4 3 6
Bengaluru 5 2 4
UP 5 1 2
Dilli 5 1 2
Today’s match
Mumbai v Haryana
Live on Sony PIX, 7pm