UP Dangal's hope of winning the second season of Patanjali Powervita Pro Wrestling league took a massive hit when their star player Geeta Phogat's participation was in doubt.
However, the team was relieved to find that Geeta was declared fit and will now be available for the encounter against NCR Punjab Royals on Tuesday. But, Babita Kumari was ruled out of the competition on Sunday after it was informed that she had to undergo rehab for the injury she suffered during the opening bout.
The Uttar Pradesh franchise had named themselves as UP Dangal after inclusion of the much in demand real-life Dangal girls in the team.
Talking about it, UP team owner Sunny Katyal said, "Babita got injured while playing against Haryana Hammers. She was not able to stand still even for a minute against Olympic bronze medalist Sofia Mattsson. In the last match against Mumbai Maharathi, Babita was replaced by national champion Pinki, but unfortunately she was blocked in the 58kg category. She was facing Olympic bronze medalist Marwa Amri of Tunisia. But now with Geeta's availability her supporters are excited. After the success of the film everyone is eager to see her in action. Babita won't be able to play but she will be present to support her teammates."
Meanwhile, the bout between Mausam Khatri and Krishna in 97kg and bout between Amit Dhankar and Pankaj Rana in the 70kg weight category are expected to be quite interesting. Geeta will face national champion Manju while Punjab will be relying on their star player World champion Vladimir (57kg) and Odunayo (53kg).
Punjab also suffered a setback as Togrul Asgarov was ruled out due to neck injury and has been replaced by Russia's Ilyas Bekbultov.