New-look Haryana Steelers take big strides despite final defeat in PKL 10

The Steelers played their first-ever final in season 10.

The Haryana Steelers‘ season began with a 30-point loss to the UP Yoddhas, which set the stage for a difficult start for the team. However, they staged a brilliant comeback, winning four straight games in a row. Nevertheless, after winning six, losing four, and drawing one of their first 11 games, they found themselves in a mid-season pickle.

They picked up their momentum rightfully in the second half of the season as they started playing as a cohesive unit. They were never worried about lacking big stars as they always entered the mat as a seven-member bandwagon as they beat sides to produce their best-ever performance in their six-year history of PKL.

Let’s dig deep into how the season fared for the PKL 2023-24 runners-up.

Top Performers

Rahul Sethpal

Rahul Sethpal has been Haryana’s finest defender as he finished fourth in terms of most tackle points scored with 73, which included three crucial points in the semifinal. This season, the right-corner defender played a key role in shaping his team’s defense and executed every strategy he had with accuracy. Rahul’s timely return to form was one of the main factors in the Haryana Steelers’ greatest finish in their six-year PKL tenure. he made the most of any player this season with 15 Super Tackles, particularly during super tackles. The fact that Sethpal was the only player to achieve double figures in this statistic this season speaks something about his effect.

Mohit Nandal

As the second-best defender for the Haryana Steelers, Mohit Nandal made sure they made it to their first-ever finals. He collected 70 tackle points in 24 games. Having been selected to captain the team in a few games, he had a significant influence in leading the Haryana Steelers to the title game. The team’s performance in multiple games was greatly aided by the 25-year-old right-cover defender.

Vinay

Vinay’s young legs have produced offensive points while Haryana’s defense has remained composed. As the main raider for the Haryana Steelers, Vinay has a lot of help from Shivam Patare, who has also been playing well. Both players are full of confidence after facing Ankush’s defensive wall in the semifinals and Fazel Atrachalli & Co. in the eliminator to guarantee Haryana’s place in their first-ever PKL final. For the most part, he was unbeatable against defensive units.

Underperformer of the Season

K. Prapanjan

Haryana Steelers had a quality defensive line-up and they had picked up the plethora of Raiders to do the scoring in the Raiding department. Prapanjan was one of them who reunited with coach Manpreet Singh under whom he played for Gujarat in Season 6 of PKL. But, he couldn’t turn up as hardly made an impact as he could score only 22 points playing 12 games. The left-raider was disappointing but he would like to brush it off and make a strong comeback in the next season.

Special Mentions

The Haryana Steelers‘ captain, Jaideep Dahiya, was quite impressive this season. Jaideep Dahiya scored 68 tackle points in 23 games. His role in the defensive triad included Rahul Sethpal and Mohit Nandal was one to remember. Shivam Patare is another youngster to watch out for as he had an outstanding season along with Vinay this season. These two were pivotal in Haryana’s journey to the finals.

Top Performances

Jaipur Pink Panthers 27 – 31 Haryana Steelers, Semifinals

Gujarat Giants 30 – 34 Haryana Steelers, Match 101

Puneri Paltans 39 – 44 Haryana Steelers, Match 24

Manager’s Report Card – Manpreet Singh

If there is one man among not only the players but also the support staff whose energy is infectious, then Manpreet Singh is a no-brainer. Since kabaddi is a momentum-based game, a player’s reaction to pressure has a big impact on the outcome of the match. PKL has seen Manpreet’s intensity throughout the years, both as a player and as a coach at this point.

During the elimination round, he was spotted smiling, which gave his players more freedom to express themselves and less pressure. His contagious energy persisted even in the semifinals as he assisted the Steelers in winning the mental game. He was a major contributor to the team’s run to the championship.

Lessons to be learned

The team had their plan work out in terms of their defensive unit as investing in the likes of Rahul Sethpal and Jaideep Dahiya worked wonders for the team from the north. But, it wasn’t quite the same in the raiding department. They spend big bucks on the likes of Siddharth Desai and Chandran Ranjith during the Auctions ahead of season 10.

Chandran Ranjit was missing in the first few games and after four games as he was again ruled out due to injury. Siddharth was not at his best and with injury worries to Prapanjan it was left to Vinay and Shivam Patare to do all the work. Investing in Raiders is one but to ensure the investments are on injury-free Raiders is paramount.

Fan View

Haryana Steelers fans would be happy to see their team play in the finals for the first time in their PKL history. In the last two seasons, they missed out on qualifying for the playoffs by a whisker as they finished seventh place in the last two seasons. The qualification is heartening to see.

Although they must be disappointed to have lost an opportunity to lift the title, the fans would keep backing them to see them go one better in the next season. Just like their coach Manpreet, the fans would stay positive about the performance of their players who were impeccable this season as they did everything except bringing the cup home.

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For more updates, follow Khel Now Kabaddi on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.