CHENNAI: Former Kabaddi defender and current head coach of Dabang Delhi Joginder Narwal believed that his team can go all the way to the final.
On Monday, the team, in front of the fans at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium will play against Puneri Paltan in Qualifier 1.
“We will try to win this qualifier and go to the final. Just like season 8 (where Delhi won the title and Narwal was captain) we would like to win it again as a coach,” he told reporters in an interaction facilitated by JioStar.
Delhi finished second in the points table and confirmed a position in the top four. Backup players were given a run of games to play and have performed well so far. “The entire team has done well. Everyone will have a role to play,” he added.
One of the players that Narwal would expect to perform is Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali. Atrachali made history by becoming the first player in PKL to mark 200 appearances earlier this month in Chennai. With his seniority, Atrachali would be a source of inspiration in the dressing room. “Fazel has captained a lot of teams before. And, the whole team decided that he should be the captain. Last time, he was the captain for the Bengal Warriorz. He knows how to handle the players. And, he knows how teams in the league play for the last 10 years. So, he knows how to train, how to play, what to do,” he explained.
With the team riding on collective performances rather than individual brilliance, Delhi is primed for a good outing in the knockouts. “Sandeep (Deswal), Surjeet (Singh) and Saurabh (Nandal) have played well, Akshit (Dhull) has played well, Naveen (Rawal) has played well. Most of the time, our team is on top when all the players have played well. It's not like if Ashu (Malik) is not there, then Fazel is there. When Fazel plays, the team wins. When all the players play well, our team is on top,” he explained.
Watch Dabang Delhi vs Puneri Paltain - Qualifier 1 from 9.00 pm on Star Sports and JioHotstar