Pro Kabaddi: Telugu Titans looking to make home advantage count

S Srinivas

The Titans continue to build up momentum ahead of their 4-game run this week at their base in Hyderabad. The team is in town and as they practice inside the indoor stadium in Gachibowli, they are eager to seal their spot in the semifinals with a good run in their next four games, under the affectionate glare of their home fans.

The captain, their third this season, Meraj Sheyk took to the press this evening at the stadium. He was accompanied by S Srinivas the team owner, the coaches and raider Sukesh Hegde at the stadium this evening.

With five wins out of seven, the Titans are right behind the dominant U Mumba team, which has been the runaway leader this season. The team from Mumbai is yet to taste defeat in 2015. The only time they came close was against the Titans, but from trailing by eight, the Mumbai team somehow found a way to earn a narrow one point victory at the end.

The Titans also suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Bengaluru Bulls. The team from Karnataka underscored their strength in defence, playing out of their skins to inflict a painful defeat on their fancied opponents.

But, Srinivas, supported by the coaches insisted that the team has learnt the lessons from these defeats and is set to come back stronger in the next few games.

“We are focusing on our defence,” assured Jagmohan Kilaru, who has taken over as the Manager of the team. Kilaru has been a coach with the Sports Authority of India until his retirement from the apex sports body on 31 July.

Working with J Udaya Kumar, the chief coach and Srinivas Reddy, the assistant coach – the Titans went through their paces for the past two days getting themselves acquainted with the conditions in Hyderabad.

But when the lights go on today at the stadium, it is going to be a fiery baptism for the team from Hyderabad. Expect nothing less than a full house in Gachibowli for the beginning of the second leg of Pro Kabaddi Season two.