PKL 2019 | Kabaddi was real winner, Manpreet Singh says after win against Bengaluru Bulls
After Gujarat Fortunegiants defeated Bengaluru Bulls by a huge margin of 42-24, Gujarat coach Manpreet Singh has stated that the sport of kabaddi was the real winner in the game. Manpreet was also delighted with the results that he got by integrating youngsters into the side in their first game.
In a rematch of last season’s final, Bengaluru Bulls were humbled by Gujarat Fortunegiants who put together an excellent show at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad. Earlier this year in January, Gujarat were defeated by the Bulls in the summit clash of the sixth season and Manpreet reminded the reporters about the same and said that kabaddi was the real winner.
“Not just for Gujarat Fortunegiants, but I feel kabaddi was also a real winner tonight. Six months back we lost to Bengaluru Bulls in the final. So, I’m happy we won tonight. Secondly, I’m happy that we have lived up to our reputation of blooding new talent (Sumit). I believe tonight, we unearthed three new stars for the future,” Manpreet told reporters after the win.
Despite having Rituraj Koravi, who played for them in the previous edition, Gujarat went ahead into the game with Ankit at the right corner. They tried Sumit Malik at the crucial left corner position in the game and the decision paid off for the team as well. Although Amit failed to impress that in the defence, Sumit’s four points made the coach happy.
“According to me, a coach is someone who should always take on new challenges. Integrating new faces into a team and getting the best out of their talent is what I feel being a coach is all about,” Manpreet stated.
“I feel Sumit will be a star. Many big players from Indian kabaddi have come from his village in the past. They have a lot of kabaddi players and wrestlers from their village. The craze for kabaddi is so much that children born there don’t want to grow up and be movie stars, but aspire to be kabaddi players instead. The coach who is present in their village is also a very good friend of mine. He recommended these players to me and I salute him for spotting such talents.”
Manpreet also explained the plan that his team had before the start of the game. “The strategy was clear from the start. We planned to keep it tight in defence. If you look at the final six months back, we were in a good position at half-time but lost. We’ve worked hard over the past three months and you saw the result of that in today’s match. Hopefully, it’ll be like this throughout the season.”
Skipper Sunil Kumar led from the front in yesterday’s game and was the star for the team in the defence. He collected six tackle points and in the process registered his first High 5 in season 7 against the Bulls. He was delighted after the win and spoke about his brother Sumit’s performance as well.
“I am happy to have won today’s game after losing to Bengaluru Bulls in last season’s final. As for playing with my brother Sumit, we’ve got a very good understanding on the mat and have been playing kabaddi together from a young age in our village,” Sunil expressed.