PKL 12: Anup Kumar express disappointment over Ayan's performance after their second consecutive loss

Nitin Kumar Dhankar scored the most points for Pink Panthers against Patna Pirates.

Jaipur Pink Panthers got off to a dream start in Pro Kabaddi League 12 (PKL 12) with a thumping win over the Patna Pirates. The Pink Panthers looked dominant and ticked all the boxes to secure their first win of the season, while the Pirates have now lost two games on the trot.

Jaipur’s head coach, Narender Redhu, went home as a happy man after defeating his former side, Patna Pirates, in a nailbiting encounter.

After the game, both teams’ head coaches addressed the media.

Jaipur Pink Panthers

Thoughts on the game

Narender Redhu expressed his thoughts on the match and said, “Patna is a good team in which Ayan is a superstar raider. Ankit and Deepak are also star players who have been playing in the league for a very long time. We told all our players not to worry about the match and to play freely.

If you play under pressure, then problems will arise. The main thing was that if we control Maninder and Ayan, then we will win the match. We played according to the plan, and Nitin also played very well, and we won because of that.”

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Nitin and Ali Choubtarash’s performance

Narender Redhu shared his views on Nitin’s performance and said, “I was asked a lot about why you took Nitin. I have already told you about Nitin, that he was the second raider under Maninder in Bengal Warriorz, and I saw the talent in him. So, instead of a second raider, he can work for us as a main raider. So I took him on that basis, and from what he had shown in the pre-camp.

He also went on to shed some light on Ali Choubtarash’s performance and added, “About Ali, we had seen his video before the auction, and I had analyzed that he became a good raider, so as soon as he came to the camp, he proved that if he gets a chance, then he will do well. Both the raiders had performed very well in the pre-camp. So if a player’s camp goes well, then it is known that he will do well in the league too.”

Ali Choubtarash’s thoughts on his debut

The Iranian raider shared his views on his debut and thanked his coach for showing trust in him.

“I’m happy because I’m playing for Jaipur Pink Panthers. I would like to thank the coach for giving me the opportunity. The coach told me to relax and play with a free mind. He asked me to play without any pressure and do my job.”

Thoughts on Ayan Lohchab

Narender Redhu was quizzed about his thoughts on Ayan Lohchab’s performance, and he said, “Ayan is an emerging player and is a superstar. Last season, he was with me, so there is a different plan for him, and if a player trains with the coach for the entire season, then his minus becomes a plus. So we knew about Ayan, and our team played  as per the plan, and our team won.”

Thoughts on the Telugu Titans

Narender Redhu opened up about his thoughts on the Telugu Titans ahead of their next game and said, “We can’t say that they didn’t perform well. They have a good team and good raiders in Vijay and Bharat. Shubham Shinde is also there. So it is a good team, and no team is ever weak. So we will also make a plan and play well. We will try to get you to see a good match.”

Patna Pirates 

Thoughts on the game

Sharing his thoughts on the game, Patna Pirates head coach Anup Kumar said, “See, there were lapses on both sides. The raiding department was ok. But in defence, Ankit is our most valuable player, and his performance was up to the mark. It takes time to settle down. The first match was good.

“Today’s match was also good. We cannot consider it bad. But if we play like this, then every match is like this. Every team is like this, and it will become more difficult to win games. The team will also have to be tightened a bit and will have to work a little,” he added.

Performance of the players

Anup Kumar also appreciated Maninder’s performance and said that Ayan needs to work on his timing. He said, “Maninder’s performance is very good for the team. He is a senior player, and our raiders get motivated and their confidence increases after seeing him perform.”

“I had told you yesterday that our expectations are high for Ayan, and even today, he could not perform so well. There is a little problem with the timing. We discussed it yesterday and will pay more attention in the future so that he does well,” he added.

Thoughts on Bengaluru Bulls

Anup Kumar shared his views on the Bengaluru Bulls ahead of their next game and said, “They have a good team. Akash Shinde is their main raider, and he is good. He played very well in the first match, but we cannot focus on one player because we don’t know which player will click, so we will focus on the entire team. We will make a strategy accordingly for the next match.”

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