Rambir Singh Khokhar: The defence played exactly according to plan

A magnificent display in defence handed Haryana Steelers a 34-27 victory over Dabang Delhi K.C. on Sunday. Haryana Steelers were represented by coach Rambir Singh Khokhar and Vikash Khandola at the post-match press conference while coach Krishan Kumar Hooda and Naveen took questions for Dabang Delhi K.C.

Haryana Steelers

Q1. Who would you credit for today’s win?

Rambir Singh Khokhar: I credit today’s win to both, the defence and the raiders. Our defence played exactly according to plan today. We were missing a bit of coordination in the defence earlier. But today they were outstanding; in fact, the entire team was. In offence, we have one of the best raiders in the league in Vikash Khandola who has performed at his peak for us in every match, barring maybe one or two. He is an intelligent raider. He doesn’t just try to score every time. He performs according to the situation of the game and that really helps our team.

Q2. Tell us a little bit about your form.

Vikash Khandola: I am happy that my form has been so good in recent games. But today I felt that we were able to win the game because of how well our defence played. Only when both departments perform well is it possible for a team to win.

Q3. What was the team strategy for today’s game?

Rambir Singh Khokhar: We had planned earlier on how to play in certain situations and today, a score advantage of about 4 points, too, was enough for us to seal the game because of how well our defence was playing. Our main aim was to not give away a Super Raid. I think the defence succeeded completely in that regard. We never let a situation arise where we were in danger of getting All-Out and a major part of that has been due to our defence.

Dabang Delhi K.C.

Q1. What do you think went wrong today?

Krishan Kumar Hooda: Our raiders couldn’t perform well today. We tried everyone from Chandran Ranjit to Meraj Sheykh but when a player doesn’t work in offence we have to substitute him and get another player in. Today neither Ranjit nor Sheykh worked. We had a lot of hopes from Naveen Kumar but even he did not perform to his potential I felt. The defence played really well, but I feel the offence could have done better.

Q2. What are the positives you will take back from this game?

Naveen Kumar: Our defence did really well. They even managed a few key tackles at vital junctures. But, unfortunately, our raiders weren’t able to support them by getting raid points.

Q3. What will be the strategy going forward?

Krishan Kumar Hooda: Our plan is to keep fighting till the end. We still have some games left in the campaign and we are going to give it our all.