CHENNAI: Dependence on a single player can harm a team’s performance. Puneri Paltan banked heavily on raider Nitin Tomar against U Mumba in their first match of the Pro Kabaddi League which ended in a draw. On Monday, in their second clash, the Paltans worked on their mistakes to get the better of Haryana Steelers 34-22. There was no over reliance on individuals and the tackles were smooth. They focussed mostly on defence and did not make silly attempts to win more tackle points. Instead, they waited for the Steelers to make mistakes, eventually benefitting from those.
Girish Ernak, one of the best defenders in the country, played a smart game with a 50 per cent success rate in defence. He attempted only four tackles, out of which two were successful. Nitin was the best raider with seven raid points. “After yesterday’s tie, we wanted to overcome the issues. So we didn’t want to put additional pressure on Nitin. The credit for today’s win goes to the defence. The boys lived up to expectations,” said Puneri Paltan’s coach Ashan Kumar.
Ravi Kumar was a surprise package for the orange outfit. He was the best defender with three successful tackles out of four on Monday. While praising Ravi’s performance, coach said he played very well. After Sunday’s not-so-good performance, the coach had asked Ravi to support the defence and he proved his prowess. “I won’t say it’s a surprise for me, but this performance was not expected from him,” Ashan added.
In the second half, when Steelers were scoring points, Nitin’s shoulder was injured but he displayed fighting spirit. He just went out for a minute and came back to support the raiding department.
Asked about his injury, Nitin said, “I don’t pay attention to these because in kabaddi injuries are common. I didn’t take much time and came back since my team was losing points.”
Tamil Thalaivas lose to UP Yoddha
In the other match, local favourites Tamil Thalaivas went down fighting to UP Yoddha 32-37. After lagging behind by a huge margin in the first half (4-18), the Thalaivas fought hard to reduce the deficit but failed to close the gap.
Results: Puneri Paltan bt Haryana Steelers 34-22; UP Yoddha bt Tamil Thalaivas 37-32.