Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 56 of PKL 5
With Season 5 of Pro Kabaddi League reaching its business end, every match is becoming an intense battle looked on keenly by all the other teams who are trying to find a place in the top 3 of the tables of their respective zones. The four teams on the mat in Chennai were UP Yoddha and Puneri Paltan in the first match and Tamil Thalaivas and Jaipur Pink Panthers in the second game of the doubleheader.
In the first match, Deepak Niwas Hooda appeared head and shoulders above all with a 16 point performance but his team was still given a hard time by a spirited UP Yoddha who lost on the buzzer raid. Even Jaipur Pink Panthers and Tamil Thalaivas fought hard and it was only in the last minute that a Jaipur win became certain.
Here are the five points of the day
#1 Hooda's injury scare brings the contest to a standstill
Having put his team in a position of strength with a couple of super raids already, Deepak Niwas Hooda went in again to attack the right flank of the UP defence in the 13th minute of the game. After cornering the Yoddha's right corner but unable to get a hand touch on him, Hooda was retreating to safety when a charging Jeeva Kumar tried to put a dash on him. Although his attempt was unsuccessful, his hand managed to hit the Puneri Paltan captain in the neck region.
The scenes that followed weren’t the most pleasant as Hooda sat on the mat groggy and dazed calling for medical attention. The medics appeared quickly from the background to help him to his feet and those who had their hearts in their mouth saw their tensions cool down when Hooda was back on his raiding duties in the next few minutes.
The incident, however, once again brought to the fore the dangers the players are exposed to in this game due to its extreme physical nature.