PWL 2017 | Jaipur Ninjas advance to the Semi-Finals after defeating UP Dangal 4-3
Jaipur Ninjas triumphed over UP Dangal 4-3 to seal a spot in the Semi-Finals at the Patanjali Powervita Pro Wrestling League Season 2 at the K D Jadhav Indoor Stadium here today.
UP won the toss and decided to block the 57 kg Men's category, thereby preventing Jaipur's impressive Indian grappler Utkarsh Kale from participating in the tie. UP blocked the 75 kg Women's category, as Jaipur's key player Jenny Fransson had to sit out.
The evening commenced with a tight bout between two Georgian wrestlers, Tariel Gaphrindashvili from UP and Jakob Makarashvili from Jaipur. UP, who are yet to win a tie in PWL 2, banked on Gaphrindashvili's youth and exuberance against the more seasoned Makarashvili. Although Gaphrindashvili used a double leg hold to score points, Makarashvili turned it around and took him down, getting a 2-0 lead going into Round 2. Gaphrindashvili began the next round aggressively, taking down
Jaipur's Pooja Dhanda took on UP youngster Manisha in the 58 kg Women's category and ended with a dominant 8-4 victory. Manisha, who replaced star wrestler Geeta Phogat for the tie, found the going difficult as the more experienced Pooja Dhanda scored points with decisive attacking moves and affecting takedowns. However, Manisha was quick to take advantage of a lapse by Pooja, who lost her grip while attempting a rollover, to bridge the points deficit. While Pinki fought with much resolve in the dying moments of the match, she was unable to score big as Pooja Dhanda secured a win.
UP
UP made a comeback in the match as Andrey Kviatkovski prevailed over Jaipur's Rahul Mann in a closely fought 65 kg Men's category bout. Rahul scored early with a takedown that surprised Kviatkovski but the Ukrainian wrestler settled scores with a takedown from a standing position to win 8-4.
Jaipur retorted strongly as Venezuelan wrestler Betzabeth Arguello handed
Jaipur Captain Elizbar Odikadze clinched the tie in his team's
The most exciting and action-packed bout of the evening was played out between UP Captain
UP Dangal
With this victory, Jaipur Ninjas became the first team to qualify for the Semi-finals of PWL 2 with six points out of their four games.
Jaipur's coach Mahavir Singh said: "I am very content with the performance of the team. Ritu lost by just a mistake otherwise her match was quite close. We are through to
Jenny Fransson from Jaipur, who was ruled out from today's tie, said: "I couldn't play today but am happy and celebrating team's win without any muscle pain!"
Jaipur's Pooja Dhanda remarked: "This is my first time in PWL and my second win. Very happy for myself and my team. I hope I perform the same way throughout and help my team gets a podium finish."
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