"Manjeet Chhillar himself is not performing"- Anup Kumar comments on Dabang Delhi KC's 17-point defeat to Puneri Paltan
Puneri Paltan head coach Anup Kumar shared his views on Dabang Delhi KC's disappointing performance against the Pune-based franchise in their most recent Pro Kabaddi 2022 match.
Dabang Delhi KC locked horns with Puneri Paltan in Match 76 of PKL 8 at the Grand Sheraton hotel. Fans expected it to be a close encounter but Puneri Paltan crushed the Dabangs by 42-25.
Delhi attempted 20 tackles against Pune but only three were successful. Commenting on the Dabangs' performance, Anup Kumar said at the post-match press conference:
"Delhi's defense is not playing up to the mark. Joginder and Jeeva are senior players. It is necessary to have senior players because they know how to handle the team. Manjeet Chhillar himself is not performing, so it seemed a little difficult for him to handle the team. I think their defense did not play well overall."
Anup added that he expected his Pro Kabaddi team to win since Naveen Kumar was not in the Dabang Delhi KC playing seven. However, the coach did not expect a 17-point win. He said:
"We were not 100% sure that we would defeat Dabang Delhi KC by such a big margin. But I knew that we could defeat them since Naveen Kumar was not playing. I never thought we would win by such a big margin."
View the PKL results here.
Whoever is in the raider's range, the raider will touch that defender: Anup Kumar
Krishan and Manjeet Chhillar were the two defenders who executed the most unsuccessful tackles for Dabang Delhi KC. While Krishan got out five times in the defense, Chhillar committed three unsuccessful tackles.
When asked if his raiders had a specific plan of targetting the two defenders, Anup Kumar replied:
"There is no plan as such. Whoever is in the raider's range, the raider will touch that defender. The raiders followed that strategy and got the job done."
Puneri Paltan have climbed to the 10th position in the Pro Kabaddi points table after that win. They now have 32 points from 13 matches.