PWL: Haryana Hammers beat UP Dangal to enter final

Representation picHaryana Hammers edged out UP Dangal 54 in a thrilling semifinal to qualify for the summit clash of the Pro Wrestling League PWL here on Thursday Sun Yanan played a crucial role for Haryana winning on the ninth and deciding bout as the Hammers set up an explosive final clash with defending champions Punjab Royals The Chinese Rio Olympics medallist scored her third straight victory over Vinesh Phogat to throw UP Dangal out of the competition She won 41 in a tense and bitter semifinal that ended in tearsThe Hammers will seek revenge against the Royals after losing the title to them last year The Hammers jumped into an early lead with reigning Olympic champion Vladimir Khinchegashvili defeating UPs Nitin Rathi in the mens 57 kilogram category in the opening bout The Georgian star was stunned in the first period though with Rathi taking the first pointVladimir however turned Nitin over to snatch five points in the second round He still had to be on his guard as Nitin looked for points with his aggression The Georgian eventually won 63 Zsanett Nemeth however promptly restored parity for UP by notching up a hardfought 31 win over 2017 Commonwealth Championship silver medallist Pooja Sihag in the womens 76kg category Zsanett raced to a 30 lead in the first round itself and decided to defend in the next to hold on to her leadWorld Championship silver medallist Khetik Tsabolov then pulled off a sensational victory over Bekzod Abdurakhmonov to put the Dangals in the lead It was a fascinating tussle in the mens 74kg division that had the crowd on their feet Uzbekistans Bekzod took an early 20 lead but his attempt to pin Khetik backfired and he ended up conceding six points Khetik took advantage of the change in fortunes to add two more points to take a healthy 82 leadBekzod tried to fight back but he had yielded too much ground to force a recovery Reigning world champion Helen Maroulis then scored a fine victory to take the Hammers to a 31 lead Helen beat Vanesa Kaldzinskaya 54 although the match was not as close as the final score suggests Maroulis was enjoying a comfortable 30 lead after the first period and was 52 up till the last minute But Vanesa managed to push her off the mat just after regulation time to reduce the marginRio Olympics gold medallist Jamaladdin Magomedov and local star Geeta Phogat won the next two bouts to level the tie 33 for UP Jamaladdin easily overcame Indias national champion Sumit Malik 70 in the mens 125kg clash while Geeta Phogat had to ward off a desperate attempt from compatriot Sarita Mor Geeta took an early 10 lead and then made it 30 by the break She decided to turn defensive which could have ended in disaster for herSarita managed two points and could have turned it into an upset if she had scored one more In a battle between Indians Roublejit Singh Rangi got the better of Mandeep to put the Hammers back in the lead Roublejit took a 1point advantage into the break and gave the Hammers an unassailable 53 lead UP won the last bout with Bajrang Punia downing a valiant Harphool Gulia 53 Harphool started on the front foot but Bajrang quickly made it 41 before winning 81Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go