Pro Wrestling League: Yogeshwar Dutt beats Bajrang in battle of ‘brothers’

Pro Wrestling League: Yogeshwar Dutt 

beats Bajrang in battle of ‘brothers’ 

Yogeshwar Dutt explained that it was difficult it was for him and Bajrang to fight each other. 

It’s rare that opponents come for their wrestling bout like team-mates and exit the mat the same way. But for Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang, it is not odd. Far from adverserial, the two share a relationship akin to that of a teacher and student. As a youngster Bajrang learnt much of the game and many tricks from Yogeshwar, who at 33, is 12 years his senior. While both wrestlers compete in the 65kg division, they hadn’t faced each other prior to Wednesday’s Pro Wrestling League (PWL) tie between Haryana Hammers and Bengaluru Yodhas.

The moment was too much too handle for Bajrang, who represents the Yodhas and Yogeshwar who wrestles for the Hammers, like always, went to calm him down.”I had a word with him before the bout and he told me that he will give his hundred percent but wants me to win,” Yogeshwar said after the bout.

When both the wrestlers stepped on the mat, Bajrang’s nervousness was evident. But while the runup to it was full of emotion, the bout itself proved to be a stale encounter.Neither really seemed to try to beat the other. The crowd’s excitement turned into frustration when the first three minutes only resulted in Yogeshwar enjoying a 1-0 lead.”Chal Yogi chal. Patak isko,” a spectator yelled.

Bajrang brought some life into the match when he sprang to action after thirty seconds of the second round by taking a 2-1 lead. His mentor was clearly surprised. For the next two minutes, he tried to take hold of Bajrang’s leg but the youngster was a step ahead of his master’s moves.

But just when he thought he had sealed a win over his guru, Bajrang gave it away. Yogeshwar grabbed his leg and took him down. From trailing 2-1, the 33-year-old now led 3-2 and he held onto it till the last second. The spectators seemed confused, having not realised that Yogeshwar has won. Both Yogeshwar and Bajrang’s reaction added to the confusion. It was only after the referee raised the Haryana Hammers’ captain’s hand as the winner that the crowd knew their winner.

When asked to analyse the reason the bout turned out to be a dull encounter, Yogeshwar explained that it was difficult it was for him and Bajrang to fight each other. “We didn’t give our top performance because it is not easy to play against a person who trains and stays with you,” he said.

The moment was not easy for both the grapplers. After the match, they returned as they had entered the mat – together. Yogeshwar showed none of the happiness of a winner and Bajrang had his head down as if he was showing respect to his guru. Later, Yogeshwar praised Bajrang but said he didn’t wanted to fight him again. “He has eight to ten years in which he will play two to three Olympics. We don’t want to fight each other right now,” the winner added.

Narsingh remains unbeaten

Having already lost the tie 4-2. Bengaluru Yodhas still hoped for their captain Narsingh Yadav to win. He was up against Livan Lopez whom he had beaten 16-5 in the 2015 Worlds Championships quarter-final. Once again, Narsingh got the better of the Cuban, but it was not a cakewalk. Lopez showed aggressive intent from the start and almost took the lead after two minutes and thirty seconds but Narsingh reversed the move to open up a 3-0 lead at the break.

With just a minute and 15 seconds remaining in the bout, Lopez brought Narsingh down and rolled him over to take four straight points. The scoreline now read 5-4 in the favour of the Cuban.

The Indian regained his breath and it seemed as he had saved his best for the last. In the dying moments, Narsingh pushed Lopez towards the edge of the ring, moved his right leg forward. When Lopez went to grab the bait, Narsingh quickly pulled it back and grabbed three points with a take down.That gave him a 8-5 win.