Punjab Royals notched up a thumping 6-1 victory over strugglers Uttar Pradesh Warriors in a Pro Wrestling League (PWL) encounter here today.
This was Punjab Royals' first victory in the tournament. They had lost to Mumbai Garudas 2-5 in the opening match of the inaugural edition.
For Uttar Pradesh Warriors, this was their second successive loss, having suffered a similar fate against Bengaluru Yodhas in their campaign opener. Today's visiting team remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Rajneesh gave Punjab a winning start by defeating the Warriors' Mongolian wrestler Ganzorik Mandakhuran 8-7 in a hard-fought bout of the men's 65kg category.
In the women's 69kg category, Punjab's Vasilisa Marzaliuk got the better of UP's Alina Stadinik Mahinia 2-1 to consolidate the hosts' position.
Vasilisa took a 2-0 lead in the first round. Although Alina managed to take a point in the second round, Vasilisa held on till the end to emerge victorious.
Continuing Punjab's domination, Praveen Rana saw off the challenge of Mongolian wrestler Purevjav Unurbat in the men's 74kg division.
Having switched to the 74kg category only recently, Rana scored a couple of points at the start of the opening round when he pulled down the 2015 World Championships silver medallist with a leg hold. Unurbat staged a comeback in the second round by flipping Rana over to clinch four points.
However, Rana managed two points with another leg hold to ensure victory.
Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat then gave Punjab another win by outclassing the Warriors' Joginder Singh by technical superiority (10-0) in the men's 125kg class.
The former Asian Games silver medalist notched up 10 consecutive points to wrap up the bout in the very first round as Punjab took an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-bout contest.
In the women's 58kg event, Punjab's Geeta Phogat overcame a stiff challenge from UP's Sabita to win 3-2.
UP's icon player Babita Kumari gave her team a consolation win by defeating her cousin Priyanka Phogat 6-4 in the women's 53kg event.
Mausam Khatri then blanked the experienced Satyavart Kadian 5-0 to complete a rout for Punjab.
