PWL: Dilli Veer complete league stage on winning note

Bengaluru Dilli Veer rode on a superb performance from World Championship silver medallist Navruzov Ikhtiyor to register their maiden victory in their last league encounter by edging past Bengaluru Yodhas 43 in a keenly fought Pro Wrestling League PWL encounter at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium here on WednesdayBoth teams were locked 33 before Ikhtiyor mens 65kg overpowered the talented Bajrang Punia 101 in the last bout of the day to take Dilli Veer to victoryDilli Veer thus completed the league stage at the fifth position in the sixteam PWL table They took two points from their only win in the tournament the same as Uttar Pradesh Warriors UPW But Dilli 7 are ahead of bottomplaced UPW 13 on points differenceWednesdays defeat will have no effect on the Yodhas prospects in the tournament apart from some hurt pride in front of their home crowd as they had already cemented their spot in the semifinalsThey are currently fourth on the table with four points from their five league engagements Mumbai Garuda 8 points Haryana Hammers 6 and Punjab Royals 6 occupy the top three positionsThursdays contest between Haryana and Mumbai the last of the league stage will determine the semifinal lineupDilli Veer were handed the early lead by Erdenebat Bekhbayar as the 2015 World Championship bronze medallist from Mongolia outclassed Bengalurus Sandeep Tomar 70 in the mens 57kg divisionLiliya Horishna beat Bengalurus Lalita Sherawat 116 in the womens 53kg section to increase Dillis leadLiliya was off to a 50 lead early on But Lalita fought back to take a 65 lead before Liliya fought back to claim a 76 advantage at the break The Ukrainian did not concede any points in the second round and was clearly the superior wrestlerDavit Modzmanashvili pulled one back for Bengaluru as he overpowered Krishan Kumar of Dilli Veer by technical superiority 100 in the mens 125kg categoryDavit showcased awesome strength using the Fitley move to wrap up the issue within 64 seconds of the opening roundYuliya Ratkevich womens 58kg brought Bengaluru back on level terms with an upset 31 win over current World Champion Yesilirmak Elif Jale of Dilli VeerTrailing 01 after the opening round the Swedish girl fought back in the second period and snatched the winning points in the last minute of the boutBengalurus captain and icon player Narsingh Pancham Yadav put the hosts in the lead by outclassing Dilli Veers Dinesh Kumar 84 in the mens 74kg categoryDinesh produced a successful counterattack and pushed Narsingh out of the playing area to draw first blood He then used the single leg hold to bring down Narsingh to take two more pointsBut Narsingh fought back in the last minute of the first round to lead 43 at the break Narsingh the only Indian medallist at this years World Championships showcased superb technique in the second round to clinch a dominant victory and maintain his allwin record in the PWLCommonwealth Games champion Vinesh Phogat womens 48kg equalised for Dilli Veer as she produced an upset by outclassing Alyssa Lampe of Bengaluru by technical superiority 100It 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 101 in the mens 65kg classPunia took a onepoint lead early on but his Uzbek opponent used the single leg hold on two occasions to take a 31 lead by the end of the first roundPunia was more aggressive in the second but Ikhtiyor produced a successful defence against an attempted Fitley move to pick up a couple of points more He continued to pick up the points with his superior technique to complete a convincing victory