Joginder Singh Narwal: No player in Dabang Delhi K.C. plays for numbers

High 5s from skipper Joginder Singh Narwal and Ravinder Pahal and a vivo Pro Kabaddi record eighth successive Super 10 from Naveen Kumar led Dabang Delhi K.C. to a 40-24 victory over U Mumba at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi on Wednesday. In the post-match press conference, Dabang Delhi K.C. coach Krishan Kumar Hooda, captain Joginder Singh Narwal and raider Naveen Kumar took questions for their team while U Mumba were represented by skipper Fazel Atrachali and assistant coach Upendra Singh.

Dabang Delhi K.C.

Q. Your thoughts on becoming the first team to register three wins at home?

Krishan Kumar Hooda: The credit goes to the team. The offence and the defence, both, were incredible tonight. They deserve all the credit.

Q. The start wasn’t quite ideal. What adjustments did the team make?

Joginder Singh Narwal: The match is never decided within the first two minutes. We stayed calm. We played our game. And the result is the one we desired.

Q. Thoughts on your record-equalling eighth Super 10?

Naveen Kumar: I’m happy to have achieved something that only one of India’s best raiders, Pardeep Narwal, has achieved so far. But, we are only halfway where we want to be. We need to continue the momentum.

Q. Thoughts on your and Ravinder Pahal’s High 5s?

Joginder Singh Narwal: No player in this team plays for numbers. Be it me or Ravinder or Vishal Mane or Naveen. Each one of us plays for the team. Kabaddi is a team sport, so there are no individuals here. It doesn’t matter who does well on an individual level. We play as a unit and enjoy the wins as a unit.

U Mumba

Q. Thoughts on the match?

Upendra Singh:  We started the game very well. We kept their raiders quiet. We were in control of proceedings. But when you play against a team of such high calibre, a couple of mistakes will hurt the team dearly. The three points we gave up before half-time were extremely crucial.

Q. Tell us about the plan to send defenders to raid.

Upendra Singh: It was an intentional ploy for us. It worked with Sandeep Narwal earlier, but a couple of errors cost us.

Q. Thoughts on the upcoming game against Jaipur Pink Panther?

Fazel Atrachali: They are an excellent team and we need to be at the top of our game if we want to win. We have to be efficient in defence as well as offence against a side of such high calibre.