Learning from the game against U Mumba which ended in a tie, Puneri Paltan put on a much-improved performance against Haryana Steelers to grab a 34-22 victory. Team captain Girish Maruti Ernak, coach Ashan Kumar and raider Nitin Tomar took questions at the post-match press conference.

Puneri Paltan

Q. What did you learn from yesterday’s tie and what did you tell the team before today’s match?

Ashan Kumar: Wins and losses are part of the game. We worked on the small mistakes which the team made last time and tried to better them. I think were successful in doing so to some extent because of which we were able to win against Haryana Steelers.

Q. It seemed today that Nitin Tomar was getting good support in raiding as well as from the defenders. What do you feel?

Ashan Kumar: We worked a bit on our defence after yesterday’s game. We have a lot of variety in raiding which we managed to show in the first match but today we decided to take it easy on the raiders and focus more on getting points in defence and the results are for all to see.

Q. Anything to say about More GB’s performance?

Girish Maruti Ernak: More GB is a brilliant player! He performed well in the practice sessions and today everyone saw how versatile he is. The advantage we have with him in the team is that he can play anywhere in defence and can also get points in Do-or-Die raids. He is the perfect foil for Tomar and Deepak Kumar Dahiya in our team.

Q. Nitin, is there anything new you have worked on this season?

Nitin Tomar: The coach worked on my weaknesses, especially my speed. Whatever the coach has worked on with me I am just implementing that on the mat. I am happy to be getting such good support in Pune and I am enjoying my game.