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By: Deepak Lokhande
January 27, 2005

Kausalya Wagh

Is a woman stronger than a man? We will know on January 30, as Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Nirupam has organised a wrestling match between national sub junior gold medalist Kausalya Wagh and a local wrestler, Babloo Yadav.

The match will be held at Andheri Sports Complex on Sunday, as part of the All India Wrestling Championship. It will be the main attraction of the event.

‘‘Never before in the history of wrestling has this happened and it will provide great entertainment for kushti fans. There will be no fixing and the match will be played with true spirit. I am sure people will love it,’’ says Nirupam.

Nirupam was told about 14-year-old Wagh’s exploits by one of his activists, Sampat Salunkhe, who said that she could beat any wrestler of her age and weight group.

‘‘He was so sure that I decided to throw a challenge to local boys. Babloo Yadav, a 14-year-old who practises in Jogeshwari under the guidance of Bharat Yadav, has agreed to take up the challenge,’’ said Nirupam.

Wrestlers with Yadav, however, are somewhat skeptical about the exercise.

‘‘Occasionally, boys practise with girls but it’s a rarity. Besides, the combat takes place only with girls who come to their akhada. But a match is a different proposition. I don’t know how Babloo is going to take it. If he wins, it’s not a big deal. But what if he loses?’’ asked Bachcharam Pehelwan.

Nirupam, however, isn’t concerned. ‘‘There are some great women wrestlers and I have seen Master Chandgiram’s disciples in Delhi in some of the matches. They were fabulous,’’ says Nirupam.

For Kausalya, however, it will be a dream come true if she could beat Babloo. ‘‘I am confident of my win,” she says. Will her parents object to the match? ‘‘No way, they have always encouraged me,’’ she says.

Her coach, Jagmal Singh, too is confident of her victory, but is concerned about how she will respond to the subsequent fame.

‘‘She is used to taking on girls much older than her, so I am sure she will win. But someone should also take care of her further training. She has the potential to become a world-class wrestler but needs financial support for advanced training and appropriate diet,’’ he says.

Filmstars Salman Khan and Suniel Shetty will be present to cheer the wrestlers, and later give away the Rs four lakh prize money.

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A look at some of the area's top winter performances

story by MVP Staff
photos by Nick Falzerano

Kaity Fishbough, Northeastern, Wrestling: Freshman – and female – won the 103-pound title at the Goshen Duals on Dec. 11 by going 5-0 against male competitors. Fishbough, whose been wrestling since elementary school, was one of four Jets to win individual titles. Fishbough has been switching between 103 and 112 this season.

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Fulp-Allen, Cox qualify for girls' wrestling meet

By Mark Foyer--Half Moon Bay Review 1/26/05

There were times when it appeared that Katherine Fulp-Allen was going to get a pin in her 108-pound title wrestling match Saturday.

A couple of times, she had Sandra Garcia of James Lick High School on her back, oh-so- close to getting that pin.

The fact that she never got credit for the pin didn't bother her. She got the win, a 12-2 decision, to win the Central Coast Section girls' title.

She will be heading to Vallejo for Saturday's state meet. She won't be the only representative from Half Moon Bay High School competing. Amanda Cox will be competing at 152 pounds. She was the only person in her weight category at Saturday's meet.

Fulp-Allen had three matches on the day. She beat Stephanie Flores of San Mateo by technical fall. That was followed by a 15-1 decision over Carolyn Leong of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

That set the stage for her title bout with Garcia. While the first round was close, Fulp-Allen took charge of the match in the second round, getting Garcia on her back.

Fulp-Allen had Garcia in a headlock. But she could never get both of Garcia's shoulder blades to mat at the same time. That was not a problem as Fulp-Allen earned near-fall points.

There was another opportunity in the third round for a pin. That also netted just near-fall points.

"I'm not bothered by not getting the pin," Fulp-Allen said. "That just gives me a chance to get more mat time. I want that mat time."

As the No. 1 seed at 108 pounds with an impressive resume to her name, just about everybody in attendance at South San Francisco High School expected her to come away with the title.

"It's always exciting to win," Fulp-Allen said. "You just can't think ahead. I always think about my next match or next move."

She is looking forward to going to Vallejo.

"I am expecting to have some tough matches there," Fulp-Allen said. "There should be some good competition there."

A week earlier, Fulp-Allen won the 108-pound title at the seventh annual Napa Valley Classic.

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Roe wins over crowd in grapplers' victory

By TOBY BROWN, Times Sports Editor 1/26/05

Never in the history of Carmi-White County wrestling had a vanquished grappler received such thunderous applause.

The largest home crowd of the season made its way to McDougal-Evers Gymnasium in Carmi Tuesday evening to see senior Holly Roe become the first female in the history of Bulldog wrestling to compete in a varsity match.

And though Roe lost the 112-pound bout to Fairfield's Eric Lemond, it would have been difficult to decipher the outcome from the raucous reaction of the crowd, which gave Roe a standing ovation after she was pinned with just 3 seconds remaining in the second period.

Roe, a former Bulldog cheerleader and a sprinter on the CWC girls' track team, held her own with Lemond in the climactic bout of the match, which was won, 44-33, by the Bulldogs.

Lemond quickly got Roe to the mat in the first period, then spent most of the two-minute interval trying to secure a pin.

But Roe wiggled, arched and rolled her way out of trouble, receiving a fresh blast of applause at nearly every move. When the buzzer sounded to end the first, a huge ovation reverberated from the packed student section on the east side of the gym.

And just when it seemed the place could get no louder, it did when Roe rose to her feet early in the second period and scored two points on a reversal.

The momentum was short-lived, though, as Lemond was able to turn the tables and get Roe back on the mat, eventually wearing her down and scoring the pin in 3:57.

Including Lemond's victory, coach Bobby Wells' Mules won five of the last seven weight classes to throw a scare into Chris Courty's Bulldogs, who evened their season mark at 6-6 in dual matches.

Freshman 103-pounder Shane Sisco clinched the match for the Bulldogs by pinning Tracy Vaughan in :50 prior to Roe's bout. Other winners for CWC included Brad Watts (119 pounds), Levi Sisco (125), Kyle Stephens (135), Alex Brown (145), Bryan Smith (140), Aaron Newman (152) and Justin Kosikowski (171).

Besides Roe, the second-biggest fan favorite of the night had to be Newman, who was actually a double-winner. The freshman 152-pounder officially received a forfeit when Fairfield's Marcus Crane failed to make weight, but the two wrestled an exhibition match anyway and Newman received a large ovation when he pinned Crane in 1:56. Earlier in the season, Crane had scored a first-period pin over Newman at a match in Fairfield.

The two biggest nail-biters came in the 145- and 275-pound bouts.

At 145, Brown had a seemingly comfortable 7-4 lead over James Earl late in the third period, but Earl tied the score at seven to force overtime. Brown, a senior, pulled out the victory with a takedown with 9.9 seconds showing on the OT clock.

In the heavyweight bout, CWC junior Reo Stinson, who joined the team only a couple of weeks ago to fill a vacancy created by injuries, gave Fairfield senior Jody West a solid battle before being pinned in 5:34.

West reaggravated an injury to his right knee in the bout and was forced to take an injury time-out prior to the start of the third period. By the time the battle was over, West was in so much pain he couldn't bend over to remove the velcro ankle band which designates the home and visiting team. Referee Rick Grunert, who has been ranked among the top 20 wrestling officials in the state by the Illinois High School Association, removed the band before Wells helped West limp off the mat.

The 'Dogs got three other wins on the mat and two by forfeit.

Receiving the walkovers were L. Sisco and Smith.

Watts started the match by pinning Donald McCullom in 3:50, while Stephens stuck Evan Myers in 1:02 and Kosikowski earned a technical fall (18-2) over Max Crane.

At 130, Fairfield's Stephen Potts came from behind to take an 8-5 decision over Bulldog senior Cory Winkleman; at 160, Wes Legg of Fairfield pinned Alan Stratton in 3:10; at 189, Josh Musgrave pinned Bulldog freshman Michael Eyman in :28; and at 210, Brandon Taylor pinned CWC's Moses Scott in 4:55.

The Bulldogs won a pair of junior varsity matches, with heavyweight Kyle Wood pinning Justin Savage in 4:22 and 189-pounder Billy Camp pinning Avery Williams in :27.

CWCHS will travel to Fairfield Saturday for the Black Diamond Conference meet.

CWCHS 44, Fairfield 37

103 - Shane Sisco (C) pinned Tracy Vaughan (F), :50

112 - Eric Lemond (F) pinned Holly Roe (C), 3:57

119 - Brad Watts (C) pinned Donald McCullom (F), 3:50

125 - Levi Sisco (C) received a forfeit

130 - Stephen Potts (F) dec. Cory Winkleman (C), 8-5

135 - Kyle Stephens (C) pinned Evan Myers (F), 1:02

140 - Bryan Smith (C) received a forfeit

145 - Alex Brown (C) dec. James Earl (F), 9-7 (OT)

152 - Aaron Newman (C) received a forfeit

160 - Wes Legg (F) pinned Alan Stratton (C), 3:10

171 - Justin Kosikowski (C) tech fall Max Crane (F), 18-2

189 - Josh Musgrave (F) pinned Michael Eyman (C), :28

215 - Brandon Taylor (F) pinned Moses Scott (C), 4:55

275 - Jody West (F) pinned Reo Stinson (C), 5:34