The prestigious 63rd Maharashtra Kesari Wrestling tournament will see a new champion in 2020 as favorites Abhijeet Katke (National Runner’s up) and defending champion Bala Rafiq Shaikh were stunned by their respective opponents. The finals of 2020 will now be contested between Harshvardhan Sadgir and Shailesh Shelke.
Harshvardhan Sadgir defeated 2017 winner Abhijit Katke 5-2 in the final to qualify as mat winner, while Shailesh Shelke defeated Dnyaneshwar Jamdade 11-10 in a dramatic fashion to enter as mud representative for the title bout. In an interesting turn of events, two wrestlers from Kaka Pawar’s taleem qualified for the title bout after clinching their respective category finals in the prestigious 63rd Maharashtra Kesari Wrestling Championships at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi-Mhalunge on Monday.
Harshvardhan Sadgir defeated 2017 winner Abhijit Katke 5-2 in the final to qualify as mat winner, while Shailesh Shelke defeated Dnyaneshwar Jamdade 11-10 in a dramatic fashion to enter as mud representative for the title bout.
Both the wrestlers train at former international wrestler turned coach Kaka Pawar’s academy in Katraj.
Talking about their bout, Harshvardhan said, “We both are friends off the mat, but during the final, we will be just opponents.” Earlier, defending champion Bala Rafiq Shaikh was stunned by Jamdade by fall. Shelke defeated Ganesh Jagtap 6-4.
In the mud mat category, Katke had qualified for the final after beating Sagar Birajdar 5-2, while Sadgir had crushed Sachin Yelwar 6-0.
Earlier, in the 74 kg mud final, Anil Chavan won gold by beating Abasaheb Madane 10-6. Shrikant Nikam defeated Pravin Patil 7-6 for bronze.
The tournament is being organised by Maharashtra State Wrestling Association and City Corporation Ltd, Developers of Amanora Township in Pune.
