UP beat Marathas in PWL tie

Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia posted commanding wins to help UP Dangal defeat Veer Marathas 4-3 in a Pro Wrestling League (PWL) contest at the Siri Fort Indoor Stadium here on Friday.

After Vinesh put her squad 3-1 up in the tie, Bajrang, the Commonwealth Champion, beat compatriot Amit Dhankar 7-2 in the men's 65 kilogram category to help UP continue their unbeaten run.

At the same time, their defeat all but douses Marathas' hopes of making it to the knock-out stages.

In the clash between sisters, Vinesh played with great determination to overcome a stiff challenge from her elder sibling Ritu Phogat 4-0 in the women's 50kg division.

The win was Vinesh's fourth successive victory in the tournament.

Earlier, Veer Marathas won the toss and blocked Uzbekistan's Bekzod Abdurakhmonov while UP Dangal opted to keep Marwa Amri out of the equation.

In the first bout of the day, UP Dangal's Nithin Rathi made a great comeback to register a 7-4 victory over Shravan Kumar in the men's 57kg category.

Shravan started off well and took a 3-0 lead in the opening period. The national championship runner-up, however, showed great determination to turn the tide and come out victorious.

In the next bout, 2017 Commonwealth champion Geeta Phogat made it 2-0 for Dangal, beating national champion Ritu Malik 5-0 in the women's 62kg bout.

The win not only gave UP a huge initiative early in the duel but also saw Geeta record her first win in this year's edition.

Georgi Keteov of Armenia brought the Marathas back into tie with a dominating 16-0 win through technical superiority over Vicky Chahar in the men's 92kg division.

The World Championship bronze medallist grappled with great intent and did not allow his opponent any chance as he wrapped up the contest within three minutes.

--IANS

ajb/dg