PRO KABADDI LEAGUE season 2 champions U Mumba were run over by state rivals Puneri Paltan in their opening match of the season 5, in Hyderabad.
Despite losing the match 33-21, U Mumba coach E Bhaskaran stated that his team will take only positives from their first game and reckoned that the extended league will provide them multiple opportunities to gain momentum.
“This season of the league has equally strong teams, with no team being weaker than the rest. Which means that coming out with positive results in every match, would be a task. While a win would have been good for team morale, given that starting with a win does help set momentum for the league, we do have to accept that there are occasions when the better team will win on a night. However, given the extended league and the multiple opportunities we get to play against the same team we will have occasions to redeem ourselves.”
Bhaskaran mentioned that the loss has affected the team’s morale and that they will rectify the errors and come back stronger in the next game.
“We did lose last night’s game, but it has thankfully not affected the player’s morale significantly. We recognize the mistakes from yesterday and have worked and will work on rectifying our errors before tomorrow’s match against the Steelers. We know come back from this stronger and will work as a stronger unit."
The Mumbai outfit are set to play Haryana Steelers on July 30. Speaking about their fixture against the debutants, the U Mumba coach added,
“Haryana Steelers are just a new team in name, the team is a combination of a lot of league experienced players, with a majority of them having played in U Mumba, Benagluru Bulls and in other teams the previous seasons. They have a pro-league experience that makes them a new team with old mates and makes them a very strong team. Our intention against them would be to win, as that encouragement of a win would help in future encounters.”