PKL 12: [Watch] "Mai team chhod raha hu"- Ajay Thakur makes big revelation after Puneri Paltan's win in Qualifier 2

Puneri Paltan will face Dabang Delhi one last time in the PKL 12 final.

Season 10 champions Puneri Paltan have confirmed their place in the final of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 (PKL 12). They defeated the Telugu Titans 50-45 in Qualifier 2, securing their third final appearance in the last four seasons.

Puneri will now face Dabang Delhi as they aim for their second PKL title. The match started with the Titans inflicting an early all-out and taking a 9-point lead, but Pune made a brilliant comeback, reducing the gap to just four points by half-time.

They inflicted an all-out on Telugu Titans early in the second half, and from there, the game went neck and neck. In the end, Pune held their nerves and clinched victory after inflicting another all-out on the Titans. Aditya Shinde proved to be the star for them, scoring 21 raid points.

After the game, Puneri Paltan head coach Ajay Thakur addressed the media.

Puneri Paltan

On facing Dabang Delhi in the Final

Coach Ajay Thakur explained the difference between the two teams and said, “Dabang Delhi are a well-set team; they play with maturity. Fazal has been playing since the beginning. Surjeet is also there; they have good young players as well. We have Aslam, Vishal, and Sachin; they are experienced too.”

“But they play very slowly and smartly, while we somehow make mistakes towards the end of our games. All the matches we’ve lost to them have been because of errors in the last two minutes, so we’ll try to work on that,” he added.

Watch here-

Handling the pressure of being a coach

Puneri Paltan head coach Ajay Thakur revealed that he was unwell during the match and said, “Before the match, I had a fever. Suddenly, my blood pressure increased, and it became difficult for me to watch the match. But as the match started turning in our favour, I began to feel better. It’s not good for my body, though, and I’ll try to find ways to handle the pressure that comes with being a coach.”

He then added,“ I’ve played many matches for the Indian team and never felt this kind of pressure. But now, sitting outside as a coach, it’s too much to handle at times.”

“Yesterday, during the practice, Aslam had a niggle in his ankle, so I told him that if we lose tomorrow, I’ll announce in the press conference that I’m resigning from coaching, not because we lost, but because we lost despite being the table-toppers, which would mean I failed to teach them properly. But then Aslam reassured me that we would win.”

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