Pro Kabaddi 2019, Match 52: "100% the wrong decision", says Tamil Thalaivas coach E Bhaskaran on incident involving Ajay Thakur
Home side Tamil Thalaivas lost a nail-biter to Jaipur Pink Panthers 26-28 on Wednesday night in a match that saw it's fair share of questionable officiating as part of Pro Kabaddi 2019.
Tamil Thalaivas lost the game despite getting the only All-Out of the match as Jaipur made use of Super Tackles and bonus points to edge their way to a win.
Within four minutes of the second half, the Tamil Thalaivas managed to get the All-Out which tied the score at 17-17. However, with the scoreline reading at 22-25, a Jaipur Do or Die raid brought about the match's biggest talking point.
Deepak Narwal was tackled by Ran Singh and the officials deemed the raider out. However, Jaipur opted to review the decision, claiming Thalaivas skipper Ajay Thakur had stepped out doing the raid. Ajay had indeed kept a foot out, but after Ran Singh had made contact with Deepak Narwal. However, the TV umpire chose to overturn the on-field decision and rule the raider safe.
Ajay was visibly furious with the officials and even received a Green Card for his dissent on the court. Post the culmination of the match, he didn't even enter the court to shake hands with the officials or the other team, visibly distraught at the proceedings.
Asked about the decision post-match, Thalaivas coach E Bhaskaran replied, "It was 100% the wrong decision."
"After Ran Singh's touch, Ajay went out, which is allowed in kabaddi. The problem is they are not checking the full raid, what happened before and checking only that particular moment which is why these things are happening", said Bhaskaran, clearly unhappy with the decision.
He added, "Afterwards during the timeout, one of them came and admitted that it was the wrong decision."
Despite getting the only All Out of the match, in reality, they could have secured the All Out much earlier in the first half itself. However, their raiders fell prey to three Super Tackles and kept conceding bonus points to Jaipur's raiders.
"The Bonus Points made the difference between us winning and losing this match today. Despite getting an All-Out we lost and the reason was we didn't cover the bonus line well enough", replied Bhaskaran when asked about it.
On his raiders getting caught in Super Tackles which is becoming a repetitive issue, Bhaskaran said: "We do a lot of practice on this. Rahul Chaudhari is perfect for these kinds of situations. Ajay is generally good with more defenders on the mat. But sometimes home pressure can play a part. But yes, it is one area we want to improve."
Despite the loss though, coach Bhaskaran was very happy with his charges in what was a highly anticipated match after the comments made by Jaipur coach Srinivas Reddy.
"Overall, I have no complaints about the team today. I loved Ajay Thakur's aggression, he played freely and was brilliant for the team. Even our defense adjusted well without Manjeet Chhillar in the side and played well. We fell short due to a few things, but this was a very good performance from the side from which we will take a lot of positives going into the last home game", said Bhaskaran as he signed off.
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