Anita, on Monday, upset Asian Championships gold medallist Navjot Kaur in the women’s 62 kg category to clinch the tie for Punjab Royals against UP Dangal in the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) in Greater Noida.
With the win, the Royals surged to the top of the points table.
UP’s Jitender clinched the last bout of the evening against Punjab’s Amit Dhanker 10-9 in the men’s 74 kg category in a closely fought encounter to ensure his team’s last-four spot.
Punjab will again take on fourth placed UP Dangal in the first semi-final while second-placed Haryana Hammers will lock horns with third-placed Delhi Sultans in the second.
Anita, who is making a comeback to wrestling after childbirth, fought superbly against the technically superior Navjot to win the bout by scoring the last point and clinch the tie for the defending champions.
Earlier, UP Dangal’s 2018 Asian Games silver medalist Giorgi Sakandelidze came from behind to get the better of Punjab Royals’ 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medalist Korey Jarvis 4-2 in the men’s 125 kg superheavyweight category to help his team take an early lead.
The fearless Anju took a four-point lead with a takedown against world champion Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of UP Dangal in the women’s 53 kg category. But the Belarus wrestler’s experience helped her come back for a 12-6 win and put the UP Dangal’s 2-0 ahead in the tie.
World No 1 Bajrang Punia got the defending champions Punjab Royals back into the game with a convincing 7-0 win over an aggressive Pankaj Rana of UP Dangal in the men’s 65 kg category.
The 2017 Asian Championships silver medallist Sarita went down to the 2018 European championships silver medallist Mimi Hristova in the women’s 57kg category to bring Punjab Royals level to 2-2 after four bouts.
Punjab Royals sneaked ahead 3-2 in the tie when the 2012 Olympics bronze medalist Dato Magarisvili got the better of UP Dangal’s 2018 European U23 silver medalist Irakli Misituri 5-0 in the men’s 86 kg category.
