PKL 12: Anup Kumar gives big statement on Sunil Kumar ahead of Patna Pirates clash against U Mumba

Patna Pirates registered their first win of PKL 12 by defeating Puneri Paltan.

The second game of Day 11 at the Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 (PKL 12) shocked many pundits and Kabaddi fans as bottom-placed Patna Pirates defeated table-toppers Puneri Paltan.

The Pirates won the game and how. It was an all-round dominant performance from the league’s most successful team, and Puneri Paltan had no answer to it whatsoever.

After the game, representatives from both teams addressed the media.

Puneri Paltan 

Thoughts on the game

Puneri Paltan head coach Ajay Thakur shared his views on the game and said, “There is no doubt that we have lost very badly. But I will praise them for the way they played. We failed to stop Ayan despite trying everything. We changed corners one, two, three, but we couldn’t stop him, and the lead kept increasing.”

“Many shortcomings were seen in the team today. We will try to improve them because we have one more match left in Vizag. We will try to win that match. Patna worked on all the mistakes that they made in the previous games, and today I feel they have not made any mistakes,” he added.

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On Substitutions

Ajay Thakur also opened up about the substitutions that he made and said, “I did not want any injuries to happen. So I substituted the first seven players and allowed other players to play. So that I could know who can play well if such a situation arises again.”

“Milad played very well. We would have needed to play very aggressively because the lead had become too big. I didn’t want us to do that to avoid an injury for my players,” he added.

Thoughts on UP Yoddhas

Skipper Aslam Inamdar shared his views on the UP Yoddhas ahead of their next game and said, “UP is a good team. I think we can say that they are a balanced team on paper in this league, and their form is going well. They have strong raiders and their defence is also doing well.”

“But no problem, I think we need a chance to learn whatever mistakes we make. So we will come well prepared, and I think the match will be good,” he added.

Patna Pirates 

Ayan’s performance

Patna Pirates head coach Anup Kumar praised Ayan Lohchab for his performance and said, “I am happy. Look, I have been a raider, and if a raider gives a good performance for the team, then it makes us very happy, and that is why on the first day I said that Ayan has the capacity to score 15-20 points.”

“Puneri are a good team, and to score 15-20 points against that team means our raiders are good, but they were making a little mistake somewhere. Today, we have improved that a little and will try to continue it,” he added.

Thoughts on his performance

Ayan Lohchab opened up about his own performance and said, “Coach sahab has given us a lot of encouragement, and he has made us feel very comfortable. He has also praised us for the victory. It means there was absolutely no pressure on us. He told me that I have faith in you. We lost three matches, but even then, there was no pressure.”

Thoughts ahead of the next game

Anup Kumar was in all praise for Sunil Kumar ahead of the next game against U Mumba and said, “Everyone in the world knows that Sunil is the best captain in the world, and it is also important that Sunil plays well. It is not that the captain will be there and will make the team play.”

“But if he himself doesn’t perform well, then the team’s morale will also go down. Sunil’s team is good, and the challenge is big because his team is running in a good rhythm,” he added.

Bond with Ajay Thakur

Anup Kumar spoke about his bond with Ajay Thakur and said, “Ajay is like my younger brother. We talk every 10-15-20 days, whether on some topic or for the well-being of the family, and old memories do get refreshed when old players meet. Today we discussed a little about the World Cup, because when we came here on the ground, the shot of the World Cup was shown.”

“So after that, when we came out, there was a little discussion about that, that was also the time when there was respect among players, all these things are there even today, but I believe there is a little difference between before and now because when money enters anything, there is a little difference. But our game is such a respected game, players respect each other, seniors, coaches, this is a very good thing,” he added.

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