Mumbai Garuda maintained its unbeaten record, defeating Haryana Hammers 4-3 in the final match before the semifinals of the Pro Wrestling League here on Thursday.
But in what seemed perplexing, the organisers, even at the end of the league stage, had still not decided the semifinal line-up. The official website just indicated Team 1 vs. Team 2 and Team 3 vs. Team 4 and at the time of going to press, the officials were still said to be huddled in a meeting.
Earlier, Haryana — after winning the toss — chose to rest London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt by blocking his 65-kg category while Mumbai blocked the women’s 53 kg.
The two teams split the first two matches — Rahul Aware and icon player Adeline Gray (her fifth consecutive triumph) winning for Mumbai and Oksana Herhel and London Games bronze medallist Livan Lopez for Haryana.
The tie swayed Mumbai’s way in the fifth match (men’s 125-kg), which Giorgi Sakandelidze decisively won 10-0 against Hitender. In the tight see-saw sixth, Ritu Phogat edged Nirmal Devi 5-4 to clinch the tie for Mumbai.
“Amazing win,” said Gray of Giorgi’s win. “Not just a win, but a dominating win. That was pivotal. We needed that. He just sealed the deal. There was a possibility of couple of matches going back and forth there. But he ensured we had the possibility of winning it.”
The results: Haryana Hammers lost to Mumbai Garuda 3-4 (Categories blocked: Men’s 65 kg and Women’s 53 kg): Men 57 kg: Nitin lost to Rahul Aware 2-7; Women 58 kg: Oksana Herhel bt Sakshi Malik 4-2; Men 74 kg: Livan Lopez bt Pardeep 11-0; Women 69 kg: Geetika Jakhar lost to Adeline Gray 1-7; Men 125 kg: Hitender lost to Giorgi Sakandelidze 0-10; Women 48 kg: Nirmal Devi lost to Ritu Phogat 4-5; Men 97 kg: Andriitesey Valerii bt Odikadze Elizbar 2-1.
