Yogeshwar pips Sushil in money showdown

NEW DELHI: Ukrainian world champion in women’s 60kg category, Oksana Herhel, floored India’s two men’s heavyweight champions — Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt — during the players’ auction for the upcoming Pro Wrestling League here on Tuesday, getting the highest bid of `41.30 lakh. Her base price was `33 lakh and was picked by Haryana team at the fag-end of the auction. Despite not being among the six marquee players, Herhel, 21, caught the attention of the Haryana franchise when most of the other teams had nearly exhausted their purse of `2 crore.

Jagdish Kaliraman, former international and member of the Haryana team, said, Herhel’s inclusion would add “more weight to the team”. “It was part of our planning,” he added. Earlier, during the first round of bidding, Haryana had opted for London Games bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, who went under the hammer for `39.70 lakh. It turned out to be the highest bid for a male grappler. Dutt was one of the six marquee players and had a base price of `33 lakh.

World champion in women’s 75kg, Adeline Gray of the US, had the second-highest price tag of `37 lakh and was picked by the Mumbai team. In the case of double Olympic Games medallist Sushil Kumar, who too had a base price of `33lakh, there was intense bidding between the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh teams, but the latter walked away with the catch with a bid of `38.20 lakh. Narsingh Yadav (base price `33 lakh), didn’t get a huge response.