"He doesn't let the pressure fall on the rest of his teammates" - Jaipur Pink Panthers captain Sunil Kumar all praise for teammate Arjun Deshwal
Jaipur Pink Panthers stormed their way into the semi-finals of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 after bagging a staggering 67-30 win against UP Yoddhas on Monday, February 12.
Panthers captain and defender Sunil Kumar addressed the press conference following his team’s direct qualification to the semi-finals.
He hailed star raider Arjun Deshwal for shouldering the pressure and delivering an outstanding performance, particularly after their defense went wrong in the opening minutes of the game against the Yoddhas. Notably, Arjun is currently leading the raid points tally this season with a total of 233 raid points.
Sunil Kumar was quoted as saying while addressing the media during a post-match press conference:
"The defense unit made a few mistakes in the opening minutes of the game. However, we got better as the match went on and won the game by a huge margin in the end. Arjun Deshwal is certainly a Raid Machine. He doesn't let the pressure fall on the rest of his teammates."
"We are entering the most important phase of the tournament" - Sunil Kumar
Having won the title last year by directly qualifying for the semis, Sunil emphasized that they are now entering the most important phase of this year’s competition.
Jaipur Pink Panthers captain Sunil Kumar said during the press conference:
"It feels great to reach the Semi-Finals. We qualified for the Semis directly last season and won the trophy as well. We've played well to reach the last four this season. However, we'll certainly prepare well for the Semis and the Final. We are entering the most important phase of the tournament."
The Jaipur Pink Panthers have two more league-stage games before they make their way to the semi-finals. They will take on Telugu Titans on February 16, Friday while their last league game takes place on February 19, Monday against Gujarat Giants.
Sunil spoke about the team’s approach in the last two league games. He said:
"We'll not take any match lightly. We'll continue to give our best in our next two league-stage matches as well. Additionally, it felt great to play in Kolkata. We received a lot of support from the fans here. It felt good to see Jaipur fans in Kolkata as well."
In 20 matches so far, the Panthers have registered 14 wins and suffered only three defeats. Three of their encounters ended in a tie. They are currently leading the standings with the most points (82).