Gwalior, Aug 18 (IANS) Rohtak Rowdies climbed the points table with a well-deserved 20-7 win over Mumbai Muscle, and Kiraak Hyderabad continued their dominance at the top with a 14-11 win over MP Hathodas on the 14th day of the Pro Panja League Season 2 at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Training Centre for Disability Sports.

The player of the day was awarded to Asian and World Champion Srinivas B.V. of Rohtak Rowdies, who dominated in the Specially-Abled category. Teammate Manoj Debnath silenced the massive crowd after defeating Gwalior’s Jogendar Yadav of Mumbai Muscle in fine fashion.

The Fixture 1 Undercard began with Rohtak Rowdies’ Billa Tajamul securing a commanding 2-0 win over Mumbai Muscle’s Ishan Kashyap in the 80kg category. Mumbai struck back through Gautam Kumar, who edged out a close 2-1 victory against Rahul Nayak in the 60kg bout. However, Rowdies closed out strongly as Kunal Verma overpowered Rohit Puri Goswami with a 2-0 win in the 90kg contest, giving the Rowdies a lead before the Main Card.

Kiraak Hyderabad dominated the Second Undercard fixture with a clean sweep against MP Hathodas. Stewe Thomas defeated MP Hathodas’ Muzahid Shaikh 2-0 in the 70kg category, while Madhura KN followed suit with another 2-0 victory over Shivani Yadav in the 65kg division. The momentum carried into the 55kg bout, where Rachna Jatav overpowered Airi Kmenlang Shabong 2-0, sealing a flawless undercard win for Kiraak Hyderabad.

The first Main Card saw Rohtak Rowdies continue their strong run. Srinivas B.V. gave them the perfect start with a convincing 10-0 win over Krishna Sharma in the Specially-Abled category. Krishan made a bold move of activating the challenger round in the first round itself and backed it on the table as well, pinning his opponent in just 0.64s. Paarth Sonni won back crucial points for Mumbai Muscle as he overpowered Attar Sing 5-0 in the 100+ kg battle. Attar was playing defensively using the King’s Move, but Paarth did well in his attacks and won the three-straight rounds.

In the third match-up, Manoj Debnath of Rohtak Rowdies defeated local favourite Jogendar Yadav in the 70kg match with a clean 5-0 sweep. Manoj Debnath displayed immense confidence with a flashpin in the first round, followed by two more comfortable victories as Jogendar couldn’t match his opponent’s powerful hooks.

The final set of battles for the evening once again went in Kiraak Hyderabad’s favour, who are currently on top of the standings. Amit Singh of Kiraak Hyderabad emerged victorious over Shaju AU of MP Hathodas in the 100kg clash with a scoreline of 3-1.

Amit won the first two rounds to gain a comfortable position in the fixture. Shaju won the third round to gain a point, but couldn’t complete his comeback as Amit secured the final round and a win to his name. MP Hathodas’ star player, Sachin Goyal, built on his form from Sunday with another dominant 10-0 win, this time against Dheeraj Singh of Kiraak Hyderabad in the 80kg category.

Sachin performed three consecutive flashpins, including one in just 0.20 seconds, during the challenger round to claim crucial points for his team. The closing match saw Naveen MV win with a clean sweep, beating Akash Handique 5-0, as the table leaders rounded off the day with a win. Kiraak Hyderabad defeated MP Hathodas 14-11.

–IANS

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