PKL 2019 | Couldn’t have asked for better performance, says Krishan Kumar Hooda

Dabang Delhi won against UP Yoddha 36-27 in an encounter last night. Even after having an unpleasant start to the game, Delhi players maintained their composure and slowly paved their way back. They were down by 5-0 due to multiple successful raiders of Monu Goyat but they recovered quickly and closed the deficit. They also managed to inflict an all-out when three minutes were left in the first half and they finished with a score of 15-11 in their favour after the first 20 minutes.

“I'd like to congratulate my players. I couldn’t have asked for a better performance. Even when we were down to two men, we managed to swing the tide in a couple of raids. Brilliant all-round performance by the team and especially, Naveen Kumar. The way he’s played, he deserves a special mention,” coach Krishan Kumar Hooda said in the post-match press conference.

The most phenomenal performance of the match was by raider Naveen Kumar who finished the match with a score of 16 points in 20 attempts and he got out only twice. He single-handedly took care of the raiding unit as he barely got support from other raiders. 

“When I ask him to give his 100%, he gives that and then some more. He exceeds every expectation I have of him. I'm honoured to be the captain of this team and to have a player like Naveen in our team. The defence, too, is unbelievable. I'm extremely pleased,” skipper Joginder Narwal said. 

In defence, Ravinder Pahal was the highest scorer with five points in eight tackle attempts. The rest did make some mistakes but were able to recover quickly. The team played as a unit and that helped them edge past the opponents.

“We'll be practising hard over the next two days. There is no time to rest. We can’t even think of relaxing,” the Delhi coach concluded.