East Bengal win 1-0, in Super Cup semis
BHUBANESWAR: An injury time goal by Laldanmawia Ralte helped East Bengal to register a thrilling 1-0 win over Aizawl FC and seal the first semi-final spot of the Super Cup here on Sunday.
A former Aizawl midfielder, Ralte scored the solitary goal of the match from the spot late into injury time to break the deadlock after both the teams fought tooth and nail during the regulation time.
The first half began on a slow note but East Bengal soon caught up and started attacking in quick succession through Syrian Mahmoud Al Amna and Nigerian Dudu Omegbemi.
But the Mizoram outfit showcased their class by denying East Bengal. Aizawl FC did put up an attack with a few shots on the goal as well but couldn’t find success in their attempts.
East Bengal came really close to scoring on a couple of occasions but brave goal keeping from Aizawl FC goalkeeper Lalawmpuia kept them at bay.
It was Lalawmpuia’s heroics at the goal post that kept Aizawl FC alive in the game till the last minute before the youngster made the only mistake of the game conceding a penalty in the last minute of the injury time.
Ralte made no mistake in converting the penalty and sealing their semi-final spot.
In the last three years, the WWE has pulled out all the stops in making India a focus. From increasing their representation in the tryouts to hosting high-profile house shows on consecutive years, the company has been treating the Indian market as one of their top priorities right now.
The biggest problem for the WWE when it comes to the India has been the lack of a marquee name which resonates with the audience. At least not after the departure of The Great Khali.
The company though has recruited as many as four new Indian talents in the past one year.
The latest two additions to the performance centre – Rinku Singh Rajput and Saurav Gurjar – are both popular names in their respective sectors.
On the other hand, Kavita Devi became the first Indian wrestler to sign with the company. The latest signing came in February when the WWE recruited former Impact Wrestling star Mahabali Shera. However, if WWE Chief Brand Officer (CBO) Stephanie Mcmahon is to be believed, the company will continue to look for talent in India.
“In terms of Indian talent, we will continue to recruit. There is Kavita Devi, we have Lovepreet and some of the other talents in NXT and we are continuing to recruit and we look forward to seeing more Indian stars in WWE programming,” she said in a media conference call ahead of Wrestlemania 34.
DARA SINGH INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME
The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame welcomed its first Indian member when well-known wrestler Dara Singh was included in the legacy wing for his contribution to the sport.
The legendary ‘pehelwan’ was quite popular in the wrestling circuits in the 1940’s through 1983 and in that period, he had great matches against the likes of Japanese pro-wrestling pioneer Rikidozan and Lou Thesz who he defeated to clinch his first World championship title.