6 most exciting bouts from the league phase of Pro Wrestling League
After two weeks of non-stop wrestling and a total of 105 bouts, the league stage of the inaugural Pro Wrestling League came to a close. All six teams faced each other once and the Revanta Mumbai Garuda qualified for the semifinals in top spot after winning all five fixtures. They are joined by the Haryana Hammers and CDR Punjab Royals, who are at three wins each. The last side to make it to the knockouts are the Bengaluru Yodhas with four points out of a possible ten. The teams led by sisters Babita Kumari and Vinesh Phogat - UP Warriors and Mangalayatan University Dilli Veer, miss out on the final stages as they could only manage one win each.Over the fifteen days, we have been treated to wrestling of the highest quality. Some bouts have been closely fought and some have been completely one-sided, but there are no doubts over the supreme quality on display. With just three days left in the competition, we take a look at the six of the most exciting bouts that have taken place during the league stages.
#1 Geeta Phogat vs Sakshi Malik (58 kg)
The first day of the Pro Wrestling League saw the CDR Punjab Royals taking on the Revanta Mumbai Garuda and featured one of the most exciting bouts in the tournament, setting the tone for what was to follow in the coming days.
Royals skipper Geeta Phogat took on Mumbai’s Sakshi Malik, who came into the match as the underdog. Malik pulled off a major upset on the very first day itself as she displayed some fantastic and aggressive wrestling to stun her seasoned opponent.
In the first round, Sakshi who gained the early initiative and took a 2-0 lead and later reversed skilfully to make it 4-0 at the end of the first round. The second round saw Phogat halve the deficit very quickly before Malik struck the killer blow.
With an amazing takedown, the Garuda grappler reeled off four points in a single move and extended her lead to 8-2. Phogat huffed and puffed and came up with a four-pointer of her own and brought the deficit down to two points.
The clock was ticking fast and with the last move of the bout, Phogat equalized and made it 8-8. However, it was in vain as Malik was adjudged the better wrestler on the day and was awarded the win,