Haryana Hammers enters the final

Toast of the evening: Oksana studied Geeta Phogat and pulled off a stunning win in 2.25 minutes by fall.

Haryana Hammers overcame Punjab Royals 4-3 in the semifinal of the Pro Wrestling League at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Saturday. In Sunday’s final, Haryana meets Mumbai Garuda.

Punjab Royals led 2-0 but Haryana Hammers stayed in the hunt through well-contested bouts by Andriitesey Valeri and Tatyana Kit, both winning by fall. Even though Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat of Mongolia regained the lead for Punjab Oksana Herhel swung the contest in Haryana’s favour. The decider was wrapped up by Livan Lopez Azcuy.

In the concluding bout Azcuy was far superior to Parveen Rana. The Cuban stopped Rana 5-1 in the 74 kg.

“I knew it was going to be tough because I knew I had to win. That was the motivation for me — to give joy to the Haryana team,” said Azcuy.

Reflecting on her win, Oksana said: “I believe in myself. I had studied my opponent (Geeta) and knew a few things about her. I was well prepared.”

In terms of tactical brilliance, Oksana was the toast of the evening. The Ukrainian pulled off a win in 2.25 minutes by fall. Oksana’s point gave Haryana breathing space after Hitender had surrendered to the burly Mongolian in the 125-kg by fall (5-1).

After the two lighter weight bouts, the evening was lit up by Valerii and Kit. Rajneesh was a winner all the way against Vishal Rana of Haryana in the opener and then Punjab’s Vasilisa Marzaliuk put it across Geetika Jakhar.

It was Tatyana’s inspiring win over Priyanka Phogat, after trailing 1-4, that raised Haryana’s hopes. Her good work was given the finishing touches by Oksana and Azcuy to the delight of the audience.

The result: Haryana Hammers bt Punjab Royals 4-3 [Men’s 65kg: Vishal Rana lost to Rajneesh 2-12;Women’s 69kg: Geetika Jakhar lost to Vasilisa Marzaliuk 0-4; Men’s 97kg: Andriitesey Valerii bt Mausam Khatri by fall (5-4); Women’s 53kg: Tatyana Kit bt Priyanka Phogat by fall (5-4); Men’s 125kg: Hitender lost to Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat 1-5, Women’s 58kg: Oksana Herhel bt Geeta Phogat by fall (4-0); Men’s 74kg: Livan Lopez Azcuy bt Parveen Rana 5-1].

Weight categories blocked: Men’s 57kg, Women’s 48kg.