PKL 10: We are extremely happy to finish our season with a big win, says Tamil Thalaivas coach Ashan Kumar

It was an embarrassing defeat for the Warriors to culminate a disappointing season.

Tamil Thalaivas finished their Pro Kabaddi League season 10 (PKL 10) with a marvelous 74-37 win over Bengal Warriors at the Tau Devilal Indoor Stadium in Panchkula on 18 February 2024. It was the last game of the season for both outfits who missed out on the bus to the playoffs and finished in the middle of the table owing to inconsistency across the campaign.

Both Vishal Chahal (19) and Narender (17) were outstanding with their Super 10s for the Tamil Thalaivas, playing an integral part in the win. On the other hand, Maninder Singh (9), the skipper, was the highest points-getter for the Bengal Warriors who were underwhelming as a team on the night.

The post-match press conference with the representatives of both teams was insightful as they presented their opinions on the match and the season as a whole. Here are the excerpts: 

No understanding in defence – Kasinatha Baskaran

Kasinatha Baskaran spoke about the defence leaking points in his assessment of the match. He said,  “It was a poor performance in both raiding and defence departments. Our defenders could not build an understanding which gave away points aplenty to the opposition. Furthermore, we had a lot of bench players on the mat as we intended to give them experience.”

Watch the full PC here:

Maninder Singh’s assessment of the performance 

The star raider, Maninder Singh explained how inexperience was one of the factors for the manner of the defeat. He said, “The team started the game well but as it went on, our raiders got tackled, increasing the pressure on the players. We planned to play for the first 20 minutes with key players and then give a chance to other bench players to make their mark. Unfortunately, that planning did not work in our favour.”

“We have found a good raider in Nitin. However, he was not able to perform tonight because he had an injury,” the skipper continued in regards to a positive outcome during the season.

Happy to finish the season with a win – Ashan Kumar

The head coach of the Tamil Thalaivas praised his players after the win and said, “We are extremely happy to finish the season with a victory by a big margin. This fills our players, especially the ones who were covering like Sahil who was responsible for doing his duties, with confidence and happiness.”

Praise for Vishal Chahal

Vishal Chahal rocked the crowd with a 19-point performance for the Thalaivas. Speaking about the promising talent, the tactician said, “Vishal is a fresh face with a huge potential. We tried to give him a chance to play earlier too, he performed well in some games while underperformed in others. He is a technically gifted player and has a huge ceiling. He will succeed going forward, such is our hope with him.” 

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