A dominating performance by Haryana Hammers saw them register their first victory against defending champions Mumbai Maharathi on the opening day of the Pro Wrestling league Season 2 here on Monday.
Mumbai captain Erica Wiebe won the toss and blocked the 70kg Men's category while Haryana chose to block the 48kg Women's category. The first bout was fought between Rajneesh (Haryana Hammers) and Vikas Kumar (Mumbai Maharathi) in the 65 kg Men's category. Rajneesh executed some skillful moves as he combined attack with defence cleverly to prevail over Vikas 7-2.
The second bout for the 75 kg Women's category was won by Mumbai, as they drew level with Haryana. Canadian Erica Wiebe, who won Gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics, led from the front as Haryana's Kiran proved to be the weaker opponent. Erica won the bout by technical superiority as Kiran failed to score a single point compared to the Canadian's 16.
Haryana came back strongly in the third bout, as Russian Abdusalam Gadisov employed single leg attack and ankle hold takedowns to effectively score against his opponent, Ukraine's Pavlo Oliinyk. Haryana secured a 2-1 lead by virtue of this victory.
The fourth bout was contested in the 53 kg Women's category as grapplers Sofia Mattsson from Sweden and India's lalita Sehrawat played an aggressive game. Sofia who had earned a Bronze in the 2016 Olympics, prevailed over her and eventually won by Pin Fall.
Even as Mumbai conceded a 1-3 lead in the tie, they tried to stage a comeback as Azerbaijan-born Jabrayil Hasanov outclassed his opponent Sumit Sehrawat, clinching the bout in Mumbai's favour by virtue of technical superiority.
Haryana Hammers took full advantage of the crucial sixth bout as Marwa Amri defeated Mumbai Maharathi's Sarita 5-0. The Rio Olympics Bronze medalist clinched the tie with this victory, as Haryana took an unassailable 4-2 lead.