Rambir Singh Khokhar: We were confident we would beat U Mumba

Led by a stunning performance from Vikash Khandola, Haryana Steelers handed U Mumba their second-straight loss, winning by a scoreline of 35-31. In the post-match press conference, coach Rambir Singh Khokhar, captain Monu Goyat and raider Vikash Khandola took questions for Haryana Steelers, whereas U Mumba were represented by coach Gholamreza Mahmoud Mazandarani.

Haryana Steelers

Q. Much better control in the second half. Any reason?

Rambir Singh Khokhar: Yes. We had prepared meticulously for every raider that they had. Even at half-time the score was quite close. We worked hard and were confident that we will beat U Mumba. In offence, we were confident that at least one of our raiders would definitely work. Vikash Khandola’s game in the last two minutes was outstanding.

Q. U Mumba’s defence is outstanding. So how did you prepare for this game?

Vikash Khandola: We were fearless in our approach. We planned to target specific players and it worked for us. All in all, it was our togetherness and our execution that got us the win.

Q. Does it relieve the pressure off you knowing how good Vikash Khandola is performing?

Monu Goyat: When you know how well your partner is playing it definitely takes pressure off you while looking for points.

Q. Thoughts on the defence’s performance?

Monu Goyat: When the defence plays well the raiders feel a bit more relaxed on the mat. And if you observe our matches, you’ll see every time we’ve won the defence has excelled.

U Mumba

Q. What went wrong today?

Gholamreza Mahmoud Mazandarani: A few errors in defence. Siddharth was not a 100%. And playing back-to-back is always a difficult prospect.

Q. Is Fazel’s form a concern?

Gholamreza Mahmoud Mazandarani: No. It’s just fatigue. A day’s rest and he’ll be back to his very best. We’ll rotate the rest of the team as well.

Q. What was the strategy behind benching Abhishek Singh?

Gholamreza Mahmoud Mazandarani: It was tactical. We plan the team personnel based on the opponent and today we felt the team that started was better suited to our gameplan.