"Even I am a big fan of Pardeep Narwal just like them" - UP Yoddhas' coach Jasveer Singh opens up on how he deals with negative comments from fans
UP Yoddhas coach Jasveer Singh has done a fine job as the team's coach in Pro Kabaddi 2023. He has not shied away from making tough calls for the team's betterment, but at times, he has received negative comments from fans for his big decisions.
In the first match of PKL 10, Jasveer Singh decided to substitute the team's captain Pardeep Narwal after he failed to score any points in the first 16 minutes against U Mumba.
Speaking exclusively with Sportskeeda ahead of UP Yoddhas' next match against Bengal Warriors, coach Jasveer opened up on dealing with negative comments and several other important topics. Here are the excerpts:
Excerpts from Jasveer Singh's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda
Q. UP Yoddhas have recorded 2 wins and 2 losses in PKL 10 so far. What are your views on the team's performance?
Jasveer Singh: If you see in the first match, the defense let us down. We bounced back well then in the next two matches. The defenders supported the raiders well. In the last match, we had the momentum initially, and we could have inflicted an all-out.
However, there were a couple of weak tackle attempts. Then, we had to substitute our left corner Sumit because he was facing some issues. Our problems increased due to that, and we ended up losing.
Q. Your next match is against the Bengal Warriors, who have not lost a single match so far. Tell us about your planning for their aggressive defense.
Jasveer Singh: Bengal is doing well. Maninder, Shrikant and Shubham Shinde are experienced players. The other players are new. Winning and losing depends on the performance on the matchday. That team is performing well, but I have confidence in my men also.
In the first match also, if you remove the first 10-15 minutes, then our team looked quite settled. Our team is balanced. Their team is also nice. We will try our best to win.
Q. Bengal Warriors have new defenders for the cover positions. So, will your raiders target them specifically?
Jasveer Singh: I don't think it is a weak point. Vaibhav Garje has played in the last season also. He plays in the Army also. You cannot say that a particular spot or a player is weak. It all depends on how the player performs during the match.
When the match happens, we will have to take care of all seven players. We will plan for all seven of them.
Q. When Pardeep Narwal was substituted in the 1st match, fans were quite disappointed on social media. How do you deal with all that?
Jasveer Singh: Look Pardeep is a very big name. It is quite obvious that when he gets substituted, his fans are disappointed. But even I am a big fan of Pardeep Narwal just like them. That's why we have picked him in UP Yoddhas.
As a coach, I have the responsibility of making the important decisions. At the end of the day, no one is bigger than the team - neither Pardeep nor me. So, we have to make the tough calls. That day he was feeling weakness and his movement was not so good, so he was substituted.
Also, when we are left with three or four men on the mat, we call Pardeep out because we need to focus on defense. We send a defender in for him.
I don't take the comments of the fans in a bad way. I don't even read the comments on social media, but if they are saying something for Pardeep, even they are not wrong because they are his fans. Lastly, I would say we have to focus on the team first.
Q. Vijay Malik is a talented all-rounder. How important is he to UP Yoddhas' team balance? Also, when can we see him contributing more to the defense?
Jasveer Singh: We signed Vijay Malik for ₹85 lakh because we needed an all-rounder. We already had two specialist raiders in Surender Gill and Pardeep Narwal. He is one of the main players of our team.
Q. Talking about defense, the defenders are getting settled slowly. What else can be done to improve the performance?
Jasveer Singh: Defense has been doing well. You need to understand that the opposition raiders are also of top level. Even they can score points. The defenders can make mistakes. Our defense is settled.
Ashu Malik is dealing with an injury, but he is recovering well. We also sent him in for a few minutes in the last match. Once he is fit, the defense should be perfect.
Q. Pardeep Narwal and Surender Gill are 2 top-quality raiders. So how do you decide which raider will raid more in a particular match?
Jasveer Singh: It depends on the opposition. Every team has a certain type of defense. Also, it depends on the number of defenders present on the opposite side. The decision is made on the spot. Even the players are free to make their own decision here.
It is a left-right combination. We do not pre-decide the exact number of raids a player will get. It all depends on the situation.
Q. How important will be the support of home fans during Noida leg of PKL 10?
Jasveer Singh: We are happy to have the support of fans. There will be a little pressure of expectations, but the support of home fans is important.
Q. Who can be the next NYP star of PKL 10?
Jasveer Singh: You must have observed that every team has worked hard to scout new talents under the NYP category. See some star players are getting sold for ₹2 crore and even more than that, so if that team does not have a good set of NYP talents, they will fail to perform well.
You cannot win kabaddi tournaments with just one good player. Sumit, Surender Gill and Ashu joined us and are doing really well. Last season, even Rohit Tomar did a great job. All teams have a good set of NYPs. Last season, if you see Ankush of Jaipur won the Best Defender award.
In our team, we have Hitesh, we have Shivam Chaudhary, who is a left raider. Shivam is injured right now, but he is talented. Gagana Gowda from Karnataka is also good. We have high hopes from Hitesh and Shivam.