Pune: Buoyed by the win against the Bengaluru Bulls, the Haryana Steelers will be looking to build on the momentum when they come up against the UP Yoddhas at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Wrestling Hall here on Saturday.
Raiders Meetu and Manjeet have been in fine form, while the likes of Mohit Nandal, Jaideep Dahiya and Amirhossein Bastami have held forte in defence. The attacking and defensive units syncing well, they will again be key for the JSW Sports-owned franchise.
“As the season progresses, the team’s combination and understanding keep improving and that is reflected in our games. The bonds in the team keep strengthening with every game, and that helps us as a team,” Mohit said.
Against the Bulls, the Steelers held their nerve in the close moments, clinching a fantastic win. According to Mohit, the fact that the team was able to execute the plans properly, was crucial to help register full points.
“Our team played well against the Bengaluru Bulls and that showed on the mat. We did make a couple of small errors, but we were able to manage things well and that helped us close out the game and pick up the win. We knew what we had to work on, and we trained accordingly, the raiders and defenders were able to execute plans well, and that helped on the mat,” Mohit was quoted as saying by the franchise in a release on Friday.
The UP Yoddha side will present a very different challenge for the Steelers, who will have one eye on Pardeep Narwal from the opposition camp. Nonetheless, the Steelers will be confident of their defensive unit keeping Pardeep and co at an arm’s distance.
“UP Yoddhas is a good team, but we are also a good set-up and we can keep putting in our best efforts in the games, then the results will keep coming in our favour. Pardeep Narwal is a good player no doubt, but we have a solid defence as well and we are also in form. If our defence can do well, then anything can happen,” he added.
“The preparations for the game against UP are going well and we’re working hard in training.”
After a few difficult evenings on the mat, the Steelers have started to turn a corner after Season 9 of the Pro Kabaddi League moved to Pune. Undoubtedly, head coach Manpreet Singh’s side have their task cut out, but the uptick in fortunes will be encouraging.
“We haven’t changed much of our processes so far, and we are doing what we normally do. In the training sessions, we work on our mistakes and try to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. We just keep our focus on what we need to do and the coach’s instructions,” Mohit signed off.
–IANS