Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: U Mumba's Anup Kumar laments injury woes after defeat to Telugu Titans

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Anup instructing his raider Nitin Madan during the game

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The Telugu Titans finally got a much-needed win in the Pro Kabaddi Season 5 in the Lucknow leg. Up against Season 2 winners U Mumba, the team showed aggression from the start and were consistent throughout the match. U Mumba’s weak defense and poor raiding played right into the hands of the opponents. The team seemed to be slightly over-confident after their yesterday’s win and the players' efforts didn’t do any good to the team.

U Mumba's Captain Cool, Anup Kumar stated, "There were a lot of mistakes made during the match by the team. Also, we had a weak defense and very weak raids today. Shabeer’s injury also added to our poor performance.”

The winning team's captain, Rahul Chaudhari, was all praises for his player Sombir, who got a high 5 today in the match. He said, “For us, it was a do-or-die situation. We have anyway lost so many matches, so our agenda today was not to let anyone else win.”

The aggression and fire that the team showed today is a great sight, given their poor run of form. But it’s never too late, as there is still a long way to go in the competition.

Chaudhari’s boys, according to him, were hesitant till now but after an excellent game today, they are brimming with confidence. Coach Naveen Kumar’s advice worked well for both the players, as the skipper finished with a Super 10 and Sombir with a High 5.

Sombir looked happy and relaxed after the match as he had finally played well after disappointing performances in the last few matches. He said, “Both the captain and the coach told me to play with all my heart and without any hesitation.”

In Rahul’s opinion, Sombir was a little camera shy and nervous playing on such a huge platform. “Losing is not a good at all, it takes a toll on your game, mental and physical health. People don’t see why the team is not performing or what is going wrong, but they just write or talk ill about you and the team. When people have high hopes from you, their disappointment gives the team a lot of stress and pressure which in turn affects the game too”, said Rahul Chaudhary

Rahul didn’t hesitate to praise the U Mumba players, saying that the team has some of the best raiders and it feels good to win against a good team.

It was a great day for the Telugu Titans and it will be interesting to see if they can kick on from here and climb higher up the table in the coming matches.

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