The win will instill confidence in youngsters, asserts Rambir Singh Khokhar

It is still early days in this Pro Kabaddi season but Haryana Steelers can breathe easy now having won their first game in front of their home fans. Even their coach Rambir Singh Khokhar seemed to suggest the same at the post match conference. But it was not the same case for Gujarat who are yet to win a match this season as their last match ended in a tie.

“It was the first game of our home leg. If we had lost this game, then it would have been two losses for us and would have been demoralizing for the team. We had a couple of youngsters playing today and they played very well. This win will lift their confidence and help them do better in future games.  We have to play 5 successive games at home so this win will help them a lot”, Haryana coach Khokhar said at the post match conference.

Haryana Steelers managed to defeat Gujarat Fortunegiants 32-25 in a match where the Haryana defence performed exceedingly well even as their opponents’ raiders failed at crucial junctures to lose the match.

“These young guys have practiced very well and Surender Nada himself has motivated the young defenders and told them that he trusts them to do the job well. We also had a young find in the raid department in Naveen and that helped us overall as a team” Khokhar added.

The loss did not sit well for Gujarat Fortunegiants who were represented by their coach Manpreet Singh and Captain Sunil Kumar at the conference.

“Haryana Steelers have three good raiders in Monu Goyat, Naveen and Vikash Khandola who played a really good game. Our defence came back well in the later stages but our raiders slipped up a bit then. Hence, what should have been a turning point couldn’t be one. It has been two games already and a team usually takes two games to get together. Our raiders have played, our defence has played and these are the same players who will play going ahead”.

The Gujarat coach also emphasised on the relative inexperience of his side when compared to the Gujarat team of last year.

“Last season we had an experienced corner pairing while this season we have an inexperienced one. My corners this season are making their debuts, so it will take them some time. I think both of them will play well in the next game” added Singh.