UP Yoddha became the second team to qualify for the playoffs in the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League season 8 after beating U Mumba 35-28 in the last game of the league stage. The side will now face Puneri Paltan in the first eliminator on February 21.
UP Yoddha won 10 games, tied three games and lost nine in the ongoing edition of the tournament. These stats were enough for them to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive time.
On being questioned what different strategy Yoddhas will adopt to try and qualify for the finals this time, their head coach Jasveer Singh said:
“It’s a good thing that we have reached the playoffs 4 times in a row but we can’t be satisfied by just that, this time the team is playing well and is in full flow, we can’t make any mistakes. Our team is in form and we have the ability to go ahead in the tournament.”
When asked who he thinks would be under more pressure in the playoffs; raiders or defenders, Singh replied:
“Defence keeps the team in the game, but it’s the raiders who win games for the team. Even if the defence doesn’t play attacking Kabaddi, there are still scopes of mistakes in defense but the raiders score points continuously, which also gives confidence to the defence. The raiders would obviously have more responsibility but the onus is on both defence and offence.”
During an interaction with media, the tactician also highlighted Pardeep Narwal’s return to form.
“Pardeep’s return to form was necessary for the team. If the big player of the team doesn’t do well, then it reflects on the other players as well.
Pardeep Narwal’s return to form has benefited the team. In the initial games, he was dealing with injury issues and his speed too was slow but then he worked on his fitness and lost a couple of kilos and now he is not going for his ‘dubkis’ which has helped improve his game
If he scores consistently, then obviously the team will do well.”
he said, as per Sportskeeda.
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