During a bout between Mumbai Maharathi’s Vinesh Phogat and NCR Punjab Royals’s Anju at Tau Devi Lal Sports Stadium, Panchkula, on Monday. (Express Photo by Jasbir Malhi)Reigning Asian Games champion, Vinesh Phogat, was all smiles as Mumbai Maharathi scored a 4-3 win over defending champions NCR Punjab Royals in the opening match of the Pro Wrestling League being played at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sector 3, on Monday.
“It feels good to start the league on a winning note. There is some pressure of first match in the league and our team has new players and we see it as a new competition. This win will give our team motivation. All the players contributed in this win. Even those wrestlers, whose weight category was blocked, had contributed to winning. The team is looking forward to scoring more wins in the tournament,” shared Phogat, who had won sa gold in 53 kg category in Asian Games at Indonesia in 2018.
While Phogat outclassed youngster Anju with a 8-0 margin before referee stopped the bout in the second last round to hand Mumbai a 4-2 lead in the match, she was impressed with Anju’s fighting ability. Anju had won the gold in girls’ U-17 category in the Khelo India Youth Games, two days ago, in Pune. She joined NCR Punjab Royals on Monday.
“It was a good opportunity for a youngster like Anju and the fact that she was playing at a senior level will boost her confidence. I am sure she will try for a win in her next match and take the experience positively,” shared Phogat. Phogat had also competed in PWL last year, where she lost twice to China’s Sun Yunan in the league.
She later defeated Yunan in the opening round of her gold medal campaign in Asian Games. Last month, Phogat also got married to fellow wrestler, Somveer Rathi.
“During the last season, I lost twice to Sun Yunan of China. Even though I lost the matches, I observed her game closely and it surely helped me during my opening bout in Asian Games. In wrestling, we often don’t face the same wrestler and playing against them in such leagues surely helps us. Talking about marriage, wrestling has been my first love and it was not difficult to restart my training after marriage. We enjoy wrestling more than anything else and our life has been dedicated to wrestling,” concluded Phogat.
For the winning team, Ibragim Ilyasov ( men’s 57 kg), Zseneth Nemet (women’s 76 kg) and Sachin Rathi (men’s 74 kg) won their respective bouts. For Punjab team, Asian Games champion, Bajrang Punia (men’s 65 kg), Mimi Hristova (women’s 57 kg) and Dato Magarishvili (86 kg) won their bouts.
“It was obvious that our opponents will block one of our best wrestlers and they blocked Baitseev Vladislav in 125 kg category. And we decided to block the 62 kg division in the female category. I am happy that the team has started on a winning note and we will aim to continue this form. It’s a mix of experienced and young players and i am sure they will learn more after playing more matches,” shared Dronacharya awardee and coach of Mumbai Maharathi, Anoop Kumar.
