Mumbai Maharathi will take on UP Dangal in their third tie of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) Season 4 at the Municipal Corporation Indoor Stadium here on Monday.
It has been a mixed bag of results for the Mumbai team with one win and one loss whereas, for UP, it has been no different from last season when they started with repeated defeats.
The main attraction of this tie is undoubtedly the bout between the two icon players, Mumbai's Vinesh Phogat and UP's Vanesa Kaladzinskaya in the 53 kg weight category. Vanesa is the 2017 world champion and Vinesh has gone on to win the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold both in the span of a year.
Mumbai defeated defending champions NCR Punjab Royals in their first match but lost to MP Yodha in their second outing. UP on the other hand lost both their first two encounters against Haryana Hammers and Delhi Sultans. Vinesh defeated Royals' Anju and the Yodha's Ritu Phogat quite easily whereas for Vanesa it has been a tough outing so far this season.
In the first match, she managed to score a hard-fought win over Sarita and then went down to Pinki in one of the biggest upsets this season.
Apart from this, all eyes will also be on the women's 57 and 76 kg category and the men's 125 kg category. In the women's 76 kg category, UP Dangal's Epp Mae will take on Zsanett Nemeth of Mumbai who made it to the world championships medal round. Epp had won the gold medal at the Ivan Yariguin tournament.
In the women's 57 kg category Sarita, who had defeated world championships participant Katherina Zhydachivska in the earlier round, will now take on Betzabeth Angelica in what promises to be an exciting encounter.
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In the 125 kg category Asian Championships medal winner UP Dangal's Giorgi Sakandelidze will clash with the European championships medallist Mumbai Maharath's Baitseev Vladisiav.
"To make it to the semis, it is important that we win this tie against UP and I am sure Vinesh will lead the way by defeating Vanesa," Mumbai coach Anup said.
The UP co-owner Sunny Katiyal is not too pleased with his team's performance so far in the tournament, but said, "If my team plays to their full potential, they can beat any team in PWL 4."
Squads:
UP Dangal: Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (53 kg), Naveen (57 kg), Sarita (57 kg), Navjot Kaur (64 kg), Pankaj Rana (65 kg), Jitendra (74 kg), Epp Mae (76 kg) Irakli Misituri (86 kg), Giorgi Sakandelidze (125 kg).
Mumbai Maharathi: Vinesh Phogat (53 kg), Betzabeth Angelica (57 kg), Ibragim Ilyasov (57 kg), Shilpi Yadav (62 kg), Harphool (65 kg), Sachin Rathi (74 kg), Zsanett Nemeth (76 kg), Deepak Punia (86 kg), Baitseev Vladisiav (125 kg).
--IANS
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