UP Dangal record maiden win of PWL 4

Epp Mae and Sarita helped UP Dangal beat Mumbai Maharathi 4-3 for their first win in the Pro Wrestling League season four here on Monday.

Epp Mae held on to a late onslaught by 2017 world championships silver medallist Zseneth Nemeth to score a heart-stopping 5-3 win in the 76kg category.

Asian championships silver medallist Georgi Sakandelidze put UP Dangal 3-2 ahead beating European champion Baitseev Vladislav of Mumbai 2-1 in the 125kg superheavyweight bout.

After that it was left to Mae to consolidate the lead and she did it in style defeating the more experienced Zseneth in a closely fought encounter. National champion Harphool won the last bout of the day defeating Pankaj Rana 15-6 in an intensely fought men's 65kg category bout, reducing UP's victory margin to 4-3.

Earlier, the current national championships gold medallist Jitender gave UP Dangal a head start beating Mumbai Maharathi's junior national champion Sachin Rathi 14-0 in an intense 74kg bout which was completely dominated by the senior wrestler.

The 2017 Asian Championships silver medallist Sarita caused a major upset beating Mumbai Maharathi's 2018 Pan American Championships bronze medallist from Venezuela, Betzabeth Angelica, 6-1 in the women's 57kg category.

It was a victory of Sarita's grit and determination as she kept the aggressive Betzabeth at bay to put UP Dangal 2-0 ahead in the tie.

Deepak Punia brought Mumbai Maharathi back into the contest by upsetting the European U23 silver medallist from Georgia Irakli Misituri of UP Dangal 3-2 in an intense contest to make it 1-2 after three bouts.

Mumbai Maharathi's best bet Asian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat had to withstand a tremendous challenge from 2017 world champions Vanesa Kaladzinskaya to finally prevail 5-3 in the women's 53kg category.