Jaipur Ninjas crush Colors Delhi Sultans 4-3 on Day 5 of the Pro Wrestling League Season 2

New Delhi, January 6: Jaipur Ninjas defeated Colors Delhi Sultans 4-3 on an action-packed Day 5 of the Patanjali Powervita Pro Wrestling League Season 2 at the K D Jadhav Indoor Stadium here today.

Jaipur won the toss and blocked the 65 kg Men's category, thus making Delhi's prized catch Bajrang Punia sit out for the tie. Delhi decided to block the 53 kg Women's category in return.

Jaipur Ninjas got off to an ideal start as Captain Elizbar Odikadze overwhelmed Satyavart Kadian from Colors Delhi Sultans 8-0 in the 97 kg Men's category. Elizbar, who hails from Georgia, employed power-packed maneuvres to get a stranglehold on Satyavart, eventually flipping him over and scoring points in a comprehensive fashion. Satyavart, who won Silver in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, gave in to the pressure as Delhi had their task cut out.

Delhi found redemption in the second bout as Mariya Stadnik proved too powerful for Jaipur's Ritu Phogat. Stadnik, a three-time Olympic medalist and the most expensive female wrestler in PWL-2 used her attacking moves cleverly, taking down Ritu and flipping her over, scoring points rapidly. Ritu, who is the most expensive Indian female wrestler in the competition, was left stunned in front of the experience of Stadnik as the bout went in Delhi's favour 16-0. Mariya Stadnik won by virtue of Technical Superiority in the 48 kg Women's category

The third bout was an exciting contest between Delhi's Parveen Rana and Jaipur's Jakob Makarashvili in the 74 kg Men's category. Parveen Rana fought brilliantly to provide a stiff challenge to Makarashvili in a bout that saw fortunes shift every few seconds. However, the Georgian wrestler stamped his authority in the end and won with a 10-7 points margin.

PWL debutants Jaipur Ninjas continued their impressive show thanks to a clinical 5-0 victory by 2016 Olympics Bronze medalist Jenny Fransson over Alina Makhynia from Colors Delhi Sultans in the 75 kg Women's category. Swedish grappler Fransson gave no chances to her opponent in the bout, employing a diverse range of attacking tackles to take down Alina, who blanked out by the end of the second round. Jenny Fransson's victory gave Jaipur a 3-1 lead in the tie.

Jaipur did not allow Delhi to make a comeback in the tie, winning the fifth bout 2-0 courtesy a spirited fight from Vinod Kumar Omprakash against Delhi's David Tlashadze in the 70 kg Men's category. Vinod was clever in his attacking moves and was backed by a superior defence as he managed to score a crucial point in the final moments of the bout to clinch a hard-fought win. As a result of this, Jaipur gained an unassailable 4-1 lead in the tie.

Colors Delhi Sultans managed to salvage some pride at the end, with Captain Sakshi Malik making short work of Jaipur's Pooja Dhanda, winning 16-0 by Technical superiority. The much-anticipated bout of the evening was a treat to the spectators as Sakshi, who was playing in her first professional match after the 2016 Olympics where she won Bronze, outclassed Pooja with breathtaking tackles, powerful takedowns, and dominating flip-overs in the 58 kg Women's category.

Inspired by Sakshi's victory, Mongolian Erdenebat Bekhbayar overcame a tough fight from Jaipur's Utkarsh Kale to win 2-1 in the final bout of the evening. The final two rounds of the tie was an absorbing tussle as both wrestlers look to score points quickly. Kale, who had earlier put up a brave fight against NCR Punjab Royals' Vladimir Khinchegashvili, proved his mettle on the mat again, even as he went down against Bekhbayar. Jaipur Ninjas won the tie with a 4-3 margin.

Speaking after her spectacular victory, Delhi's Sakshi Malik said: "Very happy with my performance. I was prepared and confident about my bout today and Olympics has also helped boost my confidence. In fact, I was eagerly waiting for my match. I wasn't liking being away from the mat for so long. Our team will surely perform better in the upcoming matches."

Vinod Kumar Omprakash, on defeating an international wrestler, was upbeat. "I was very confident as my preparation has been very good. I am prepared for all my further matches," he said.

Jaipur's Jenny Fransson said, "Now I'm back in the game!"

Ritu Phogat, on losing by a big margin, had this to say: "It wasn't my day today!"