New Delhi:
Canadian wrestler Ohenewa Akuffo won the battle of the heavyweights at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday, taking the 72kg gold in the longest and most thrilling final so far.
There was nothing to choose between Akuffo and Annabel Ali of Cameroon as they went into a fourth-session tiebreaker, but the Canadian managed to summon what little strength she had left for one last show of force to take the title.
Akuffo had not wrestled Ali before Thursday but had been watching videos of her opponent and noted before the final that she had "some good moves and tricks".
Both grapplers were wary going into the bout, with the Canadian her holding rival at arms length in a tense opening minute.
The tie came to life when Akuffo started to show more aggression, managing to throw Ali over her when she suckered the African into grabbing her ankle and winning the opening session 3-0.
The wrestlers stood off again in a nervous first 30 seconds of the second session until Akuffo failed to throw her opponent, finding herself instead pinned on her front, handing Ali a 3-0 win and the momentum.
But the Cameroonian failed to seize her chance, and both wrestlers, clearly tiring, jockeying eyeball-to-eyeball for the advantage.
The third session ended 0-0 and the bout went to a fourth decider, for the first time in the tournament's medal stages.
As the hooter sounded Akuffo dived at her opponent, winning the final by a single point by strong-arming her out of the fghting area.
Hellen Okus of Nigeria beat Sarah Jones of Scotland 4-0 to take the bronze.