PKL | It was an exceptional season for us despite ups and downs, says Rishank Devadiga

PKL | It was an exceptional season for us despite ups and downs, says Rishank Devadiga

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UP Yoddha captain Rishank Devadiga has stated that despite not being at their best in the initial stages of the tournament, they performed well later to reach the playoffs. UP Yoddha lost the second qualifier to the Gujarat Fortunegiants thus failing to reach the final of the tournament.

The Gujarat Fortunegiants team defeated UP Yoddha 38-31 in the penultimate match of the Pro Kabaddi League to reach the final of the sixth edition. But UP Yoddha captain Rishank Devadiga was pleased by the way his team performed in the season and stated that it was an exceptional one for them. At one stage, Yoddha were staring at an early exit from the tournament. But two losses in a row in their last two league matches by the defending champions Patna Pirates gave Yoddhas a chance to make to the qualifiers and they managed to do so. 

“We had an exceptional season. Even though there were some ups and downs initially, I really want to commend the team for playing some excellent kabaddi. Towards the finishing stages of the campaign, everyone contributed well. I think some credit is due to all the players and also the coaches because the coaches never stopped believing in us. 

Though some of our raiders were playing with injuries, they were certain that the entire team will be fit and ready to play soon. They had complete confidence in us and we didn’t let them down,”  Devadiga said to prokabaddi.com at the post-match press conference.

In the qualifier two both the teams defended equally well but it was a better performance in the offence which won the Fortunegiants a spot to the finals. While both the teams scored ten tackle points each, Yoddhas 17 raid points against Fortunegiants’ 22 lost them the match. To make the matters worse Devadiga was injured which took the match further away from the Yoddha.

“Our raider going out of bounds and the niggle to Rishank Devadiga in the second half made us play on our defence and we struggled a little to get our combination going there. Not having one of our main raiders on the mat definitely made a difference,” said Singh.

Devadiga had to sit out the second half of the game due to the injury which seemed to affect the performances of the team. The Yoddha captain also stated that their comeback in the season will act as an inspiration for other teams in the coming seasons as well.

“I wanted to perform better through this season but unfortunately I couldn’t because of my injury. Nonetheless, I feel the season has been exceptional for our team. The comeback we made late in the league will serve as a motivation both, for us and other teams in the future who are in similar situations,” conceded Devadiga.

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