PKL: Gained a lot of confidence, but need to be careful about injuries: Naveen Kumar

Bengaluru, Oct. 8: The ninth season of the vivo Pro Kabaddi League got off to a cracking start with defending champions Dabang Delhi KC handing U Mumba a 41-27 defeat in their PKL opener at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.

Following their win, Delhi captain Naveen Kumar, who led the way in their opening day win, said the return of fans gives the players more confidence. "We missed the fans a lot last season. When we receive love from the fans, we do even better on the mat and we gain a lot of confidence. I would like to give my love to the fans, who came to the stadium. Hope they keep supporting us," said Kumar, who added vital 13 points in their win over U Mumbai on Friday.

Speaking about his team's performance, Naveen said, "We are really happy with our performance and particularly about the way our defense unit played. We have gained a lot of confidence after our first match. The mood in the team camp is really good. The raiders and defenders did pretty well. We'll keep playing like this and keep moving forward. However, we have to be careful about injuries during the season."

Super Sunday

The triple-panga fever will reach the greatest of heights with three games - Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Patna Pirates, Telugu Titans vs Bengal Warriors and Puneri Paltan vs Bengaluru Bulls scheduled for Super Sunday.

The first game of the day will witness the power of raiding duo Arjun Deshwal and V Ajith from Jaipur Pink Panthers taking on the mighty Patna Pirates Defenders in Sajin Chandrasekar and Neeraj Kumar. While Patna raiders Sachin and Rohit Gulia will be looking to take on the formidable Jaipur defense unit.

Meanwhile, Telugu Titans will be aiming to get on board after facing a tough 29-34 loss against Bengaluru Bulls on the opening day. Raiders Vinay and Siddharth Desai will be determined to breach the Bengal Warriors defense line, but it will be a tough challenge against defenders Girish Ernak and Surender Nada.

The Bengaluru Bulls got off to a dream start with a win over the Titans, but they'll have to continue to be at their best when they face off against Puneri Paltan raider trio of Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat and Pankaj Mohite. Aslam and Mohit amassed a whopping 328 raid points for Puneri Paltan last season.

Source: Media Release