Keeping injuries out is key, insists Thakur after beating Patna

Tamil Thalaivas ended Season 5 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi on a winning note with a 40-37 win over double defending champions Patna Pirates at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Saturday. Chennai skipper Ajay Thakur, who top-scored for his side in the match with 14 points, spoke of his team’s swansong performance at the post-match press conference.

“There is always pressure. We knew that we were out of the league but we had decided to fight till the end. Whether we win or lose or whatever might be the match situation, I personally don’t think much about it. It was our last match and we wanted to win so that we could end on a high. In our practice sessions as well we worked very hard,” Thakur said.

On the perpetual threat of Dubki King Pardeep Narwal, Thakur, who himself has well over 200 raid points to this name this season, said: “He is young a player without any injury, so it is difficult to perform against him because he is fast.”

Expanding on why a fully-fit Narwal is requisite to Patna’s ambitions of a hat-trick of titles, Thakur added: “It is a game of injuries. I think that if a player doesn’t get injured then he can perform well in the league but in this game injuries happen and you cannot say anything about your performance if it lets you down. It depends on the health of a player and about how fit he is. If there are no injuries for the player, then he will perform well.”