Haryana Thunders rally from 2-3 down to beat Punjab Royals, enter PWL final

Earlier, Punjab had continued to hold the upper hand through the opening five bouts, leading 3-2 at halftime after establishing a 3-1 advantage before Haryana clawed one back in the final contest of the first half.

Haryana Thunders staged a dramatic second-half comeback to overturn a halftime deficit and beat Punjab Royals 5-4 to seal a place in the final of the Pro Wrestling League 2026 here on Friday. Trailing 2-3 at the halfway stage, Haryana turned the tide after the break, with Ukraine's Iryna Koliadenko delivering the decisive blow in the women's 62kg category at the Noida Indoor Stadium. She produced a brilliant tactical display to outwit Punjab's Ana Godinez and clinch the tie for Haryana. Earlier, Punjab had continued to hold the upper hand through the opening five bouts, leading 3-2 at halftime after establishing a 3-1 advantage before Haryana clawed one back in the final contest of the first half. Punjab struck first in the 57kg men's bout as Chirag Chhikara set the tone with a decisive takedown in the opening period against Rohit. Haryana's wrestler managed only an activity point in the second, with Chirag sealing a narrow 2-1 win to hand Punjab the early lead. Haryana responded strongly in the 74kg men's contest through Parvinder Singh. After Chandermohan scored through activity and push-outs in the first period, Parvinder mounted an impressive comeback. A powerful takedown and a late push-out in the Power Minute helped him edge the bout on last-point criteria after an 8-all tie, levelling the teams at 1-1. Parvinder was later adjudged the Impact Player of the Match. Punjab regained the advantage in the 125kg heavyweight clash. Captain Dinesh Dhankhar kept the contest tight with push-outs and activity points before prevailing in a dramatic Power Minute exchange to defeat Anirudh Gulia 8-6. Momentum swung further Punjab's way in the 76kg women's bout as Priya Malik delivered one of the standout performances of the semi-final. She needed just 99 seconds to force a fall against previously unbeaten Kajal Dhochhak, stretching Punjab's lead. Malik was named Fighter of the Match. Haryana, however, stayed in the hunt with Ashirov Ashraf claiming a crucial 5-1 win over Sandeep Mann in the 86kg men's bout to close the gap to 2-3 at the break. The Thunders came out with renewed intent in the second half, and Koliadenko's composed and clinical performance against Godinez proved the turning point, sealing Haryana's comeback victory and their berth in the final.

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