Ludhiana/Panchkula, January 19, 2019: After an eventful start to the first leg of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) Season 4 in Panchkula, it now moves to Ludhiana with Haryana Hammers taking on MP Yodha in the opening match of the second leg at the Ludhiana Indoor Stadium at Pakhowal Road here on Saturday evening. Matches start at 7:00pm every day.

Both teams have been unbeaten this season. Debutant MP Yodha have defeated Delhi Sultans and Mumbai Maharathi in the las two ties whereas last year's finalist Haryana have got the better of last year's semifinalist UP Dangal in the last game. Haryana had defeated UP twice last season but that doesn't mean that they will face any less challenging situation against the Yodha's which has world championship bronze medalist Pooja Dhanda, 2017 world champion Haji Aliyev and experienced stalwart like Sandeep Tomar in their ranks. It was Sandeep only who led MP Yodha to a thrilling win in the last encounter against Mumbai Maharathi when he clinched the decider defeating U23 world champion Ibragim Ilyasov.

It will be a clash of youth and experience, Sandeep will be up against world U23 champion Ravi tomorrow. Likewise, giant-killer Sachin Rana will take on Praveen Rana in the 74kg category. All eyes will also be on the 57kg bout between Pooja and world junior champion Anastasia Nichita. The 62kg bout will see Elise Manolova and Tayana Omelchenko in a repeat of their European championships bout where the former won a silver and the later got a bronze.

Haryana Hammers co-owner Bhupendra said that if they can win any of the lower weight category bouts in the men's section, then they will win this tie easily. On the other hand, the MP Yodha coach Jagminder Singh said that reigning in their victory march will not be easy for anyone. EOM

SQUADS

MP Yodha: Ritu Phogat (53 Kg), Sandeep Tomar (57 Kg), Pooja Dhanda (57 Kg), Elise Manolova (62 Kg), Shilpi Yadav (62 Kg), Vasil Mikhaillov (74 Kg), Andrea Carolina (76 Kg), Deepak (86 Kg) & Akash Antil (125 Kg)

Haryana Hammers: Seema (53 Kg), Anastasia Nichita (57 Kg), Ravi Kumar (57 Kg), Tayana Omelchenko (62 Kg), Rajnesh (65 Kg), Praveen Rana (74 Kg), Kiran (76 Kg), Ali Shabanov (86 Kg), Khotsianivski Aleksander (125 Kg).