Naveen Kumar will be among the top raiders this season, says Coach Hooda

Telugu Titans’ Suraj Desai was sensational on debut and scored 18 points, but it was Dabang Delhi K.C. who came out victorious by a scoreline of 34-33 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday. In the post-match press conference, coach Krishan Kumar Hooda, skipper Joginder Singh Narwal and raider Naveen Kumar took questions for Dabang Delhi K.C., while coach Gholamreza Mazandarani and raiders, Siddharth and Suraj Desai, represented Telugu Titans.

Dabang Delhi K.C.

Q. Thoughts on Naveen Kumar’s performance?

Krishan Kumar Hooda: I can say with utmost confidence, that Naveen will be among the top raiders at the end of the season. That’s all I want to say about his performance.

Q. What was the turning point of the contest?

Krishan Kumar Hooda: Joginder Singh Narwal’s Super Tackle was pivotal. That changed the course of the contest and we just kept building on from there.

Q. What are your thoughts on the match, Naveen?

Naveen Kumar: It was a good win. We did well in offence and defence. But we can’t dwell on this victory for too long. We have a game tomorrow as well. So, we need to prepare for that.

Q. Same question for you Joginder.

Joginder Singh Narwal: We did well to win, but we need to play better in defence. We weren’t prompt with the execution of our defensive strategy today. Tomorrow, we play an excellent team. And we need to be at the top of our game if we want to win.

Telugu Titans

Q. Thoughts on the match?

Gholamreza Mazandarani: Our defence could have played better. We didn’t execute our gameplan to the fullest, but it was a good performance and we fell just short.

Q. Thoughts on your debut, Suraj?

Suraj Desai: Although it was my debut, I was confident that I would score and contribute. I wanted to contribute in defence as well and I’ll try to do that in the upcoming game.

Q. Eight points tonight. Are you getting back to your best?

Siddharth Desai: The first two games didn’t exactly go according to plan. But I’ve worked on my game and I feel like I played better today. Slowly but surely, I’ll get back to my best.