PKL 12: We don’t feel Arjun Deshwal’s absence, says Jaipur Pink Panthers head coach Narender Redhu

Jaipur Pink Panthers claimed a 41-29 win against UP Yoddhas.

Jaipur Pink Panthers finally bounced back to winning ways in Pro Kabaddi League 12 (PKL 12) with their first win on home soil. The Pink Panthers hunted down the UP Yoddhas in a highly electric clash to get things back on track.

Nitin Kumar led the line with perfection and was supported by Iranian all-rounder Ali Choubtarash, who notched 10 points in total. Gagan Gowda scored 16 points for the Yoddhas, but couldn’t fuel his side to a win in PKL 12.

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

UP Yoddhas

Thoughts on the game

UP Yoddhas assistant coach Upendra Malik shared his thoughts on the game and said, “All the teams in the league are doing well at the moment. “

“Today the match could have been in our hands, and we had a lead before Bhavani was super tackled and Sumit was sent out. From there, all the defenders made mistakes and both the units failed together, so it took so much time to come back that by then it was too late.”

Gagan Gowda’s performance

Speaking about Gagan Gowda’s performance, Malik said, “Of course, he is doing well. But at the same time, it is a team event, and everyone has to do it. Gagan will bring points, and others will leak points. If we keep doing this, then we won’t win matches. Both will have to do it; both units will have to work.”

Jaipur Pink Panthers 

Gameplan

Jaipur Pink Panthers head coach Narender Kumar Redhu spoke about his team’s game plan and said, “We did not put any pressure at all after we lost yesterday. We give our players 100% freedom, and they give us the results.

“The bonding between the players and the coach is like a family, and the result of that was seen in today’s match. We just play according to the plan, and today the players have given such a good performance and I strongly believe that you will get a similar performance in the future.”

Nitin Dhankar as Arjun Deshwal’s replacement

Redhu was quizzed about how well Nitin Dhankar has done to replace Arjun Deshwal.

He said, “Just like how Arjun used to give us points in every match, Nitin is doing the same, and we don’t feel Arjun’s absence.”

“Sometimes in many matches, we have two Arjuns in the form of Ali Choubtarash and Nitin Dhankhar. Nitin is improving brilliantly. So without any pressure, he should keep doing wel,l and I pray to God that he remains safe from injury and keeps moving forward,”

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