PKL 12: Ajay Thakur gives big statement on Arjun Deshwal ahead of their clash against Tamil Thalaivas

Puneri Paltan registered their 10th win in PKL 12 by defeating U Mumba.

Puneri Paltan secured another victory in the Maharashtra Derby over their arch-rivals and neighbours, U Mumba. It was an all-round performance by Paltan, who secured their tenth win in 13 outings in Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 (PKL 12).

Aditya Shinde continues to be the talking point for Ajay Thakur’s side up front and added 14 points to his tally against U Mumba. Skipper Aslam Inamdar also returned to action and scored 5 crucial points.

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

Puneri Paltan 

Thoughts on the game 

Puneri Paltan head coach Ajay Thakur expressed his feelings after the match and said, “It was a good match, and I am happy because this is the first leg where we won all matches. It is a big thing to complete a leg without any loss. I have to praise the team today, and Aslam Imaandar and especially Aditya Shinde as well.”

Aditya Shinde’s performance

Ajay Thakur praised Aditya Shinde’s performance and said, “There is no doubt that Aditya Shinde is a good player, and Aslam has a big hand in that because, as a captain, he is giving him the lead to continue raiding. I have said this before that Aslam is actually a captain who never plays for himself.”

“Aslam always gives opportunities to his youngsters. Aditya’s confidence is good as he is getting full support from behind,” he added.

Plan ahead

Thakur spoke about how he plans to take his team over the line and said, “The most important thing after winning is that there should not be overconfidence in the team. We always have to plan and practice, even when we win. We need to focus on our mistakes. I have this plan in my mind that we have to become champions, and for that, we should maintain discipline and unity among the team.”

Thoughts ahead of the next game

Ajay Thakur opened up about his thoughts ahead of the next match against the Tamil Thalaivas and said, “There’s no doubt that Arjun is the backbone of the Tamil Thalaivas. He plays intelligently. He will definitely be a challenge, and stopping a raider like Arjun is a big challenge for us. But, we will be prepared.”

U Mumba 

Thoughts on the match

U Mumba head coach Anil Chaprana shared his views on the game and said, “The boys played well. If Sandeep’s super tackle had not happened, we might have won the match. But at that time, we had very little time left, and a super tackle happened there, so we did not get time to come back.”

Ajit’s performance 

Sunil Kumar spoke about Ajit’s return to the team and said, “Ajit is an even better raider; he still has some injury left, and if he becomes completely fit, then his score will be different. You might have seen this in previous games as well. When there is no injury, we will push him.”

“Today, most of the mistakes were made by the defenders, and we gave Aditya Shinde many points, but it is a part of the game, and we will come prepared to the next match,” he added.

Thoughts on the next match

Kumar also spoke about Devank Dalal ahead of the next game and said, “Devank is the best raider and he is on top with a huge lead, and he scores 20 plus points in almost every game. He is doing very well. We will have to come up with a plan even with them. If our raider support then only we can win the match.”

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