Manpreet Singh: Would have been nice had we performed so well five games ago

Super 10s from Sonu Jaglan and Rohit Gulia led Gujarat Fortunegiants to a dominant 50-21 victory over Tamil Thalaivas at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula on Saturday. At the post-match press conference, coach Manpreet Singh took questions for Gujarat Fortunegiants.

Gujarat Fortunegiants

Q. Thoughts on the match?

Manpreet Singh: Today, the defence was excellent. They managed to contain V Ajith Kumar. The raiding duo of Sonu Jaglan and Rohit Gulia also performed exceedingly well. The all-round performance was stellar. It would have been nice had we performed so well five games ago, but better late than never.

Q. Do you still retain hopes of qualifying for the playoffs?

Manpreet Singh: There’s still three games to go. Hopefully, we can win all three. We will see what happens, we will continue fighting and won’t lose hope. We had a bad run of form and it could happen with anyone. So, if a team ends up losing a few, we have to make sure we capitalise on that situation.

Q. What do you think was key to tonight’s performance?

Manpreet Singh: I feel the players have realised that qualifying for the playoffs may be a mountain too steep to climb. So instead of worrying about having to win and the pressure of qualifying, they were relaxed in their approach and played accordingly. They didn’t panic and showed their true ability.