WHO WILL WIN ?

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 792, 12 October 1929, Page 8

WHO WILL WIN ?

Alley Wrestles Naranjan On Monday

BOTH UNBEATEN IN N.Z.,

When Tom Alley .and Naranjan Singh meet at the Town Hall on Mon-

day evening the most interesting wrestling match of the 1929 season in Auckland is promised. Both men have unbeaten records in New Zealand, and it will be interesting to see which one of them will

corno out on top. Opinion on the question is divided, but the consensus of opinion is that Naranjan will be meeting his hardest opponent to date, while at the same time Alley will have to be at his best to win.

Naranjan was not regarded as a likely wrestler when he first arrived in New Zealand, and he was given a preliminary match as a tryout. He proved to be “one out of the bag,” and be was matched with Gardini. The Indian opened the bout by slamming Gardini on his face, and the American - Italian never fully recovered from the fall. However ho gave the Indian a hard tussle until he was caught in a hammerlock and had to forfeit a fall. In the next round the Indian took full advantage of the injury, and Gardini was forced to cry enough. Vance was the next selection, and although Naranjan looked like, being defeated, he took advantage of the American's impetuosity and won. The finding of another opponent for the Indian was the next problem, and Johansson was picked. Before the match Johansson was more taciturn than usual, and it was quite evident that he realised he had a hard job on hand. However, he made a wonderful showing, the contest going the full eight rounds, The Indian had scored a fall in an earlier round, and he took the decision on the only fall of the match.

Naranjan Singh’s manager, Santa Singh, says that his charge realises that he is up against his hardest opponent to date, but lie is confident that he can win. The Indian is in excellent condition.

Alley has a record of which to be proud since he started wrestling in New Zealand. In the first match of the season he defeated Vance by two falls to one, and repeated the performance at a later date. He defeated Johansson by two falls to one in Auckland and beat the Finn in Wellington on points after each had secured a fall. He crowned his winning sequence when he defeated Eklund, light-heavy-weight champion of the world, in a catch-weight contest in Wellington. After wrestling Eklund at catchweights, Alley is convinced that he can defeat Eklund in a contest for the title, but he is not very concerned about a championship match until he has met Naranjan Singh. In the contests here, only one man has been able to score a fall at the expense of the Indian. That was Vance, and it was a submission fall with a toehold. Naranjan has yet to be pinned for a fall. Alley’s supporters maintain that the American is too wily to allow the Indian to get on top of him, for when Naranjan gets the top berth he is a hard man to shift.

On the other hand, Naranjan, too, is a hard man to hold. In fact, he is a “slippery customer,” which his past opponents know only too well. Alley is bound to find him difficult to grip and still harder to pin. With two undefeated men in the ring, there is sure to be one of the best matches of the season. The booking indicates that there will be a packed house, and it appears that there will be more than a few left outside lamenting.