Rana refuses to give up on Super Playoffs hope

Telugu Titans have come into form in the latter half of Season 5 of VIVO Pro Kabaddi after a lacklustre start to the campaign. The Titans still have an outside chance of making the Super Playoffs with recent results going their way following the return to form of Raid Machine Rahul Chaudhari. Chaudhari’s match-winning performances since the captaincy was handed to the experienced Rohit Rana, along with the tightening up of their defence, are the major reasons behind Hyderabad’s resurgence.

Their newly-appointed skipper Rana sat down with prokabaddi.com recently and told us what he thinks has been the secret behind the turnaround in fortunes for his team. “I think the side was weak at the start. The defence was not that good. We are trying to rectify the mistakes we made earlier and the team is practising well. We hope to come back strongly,” Rana said before revealing what’s been working for him on the mat, “I think if I play aggressively then I can perform and get points for my team.”

Young defender Vishal Bhardwaj has been one of the bright sparks for the team this year and has consistently kept his place near the top of the leaderboard for successful tackles. Commenting on the type of advice he offers the youngster while on the mat, Rana said: “Vishal is very aggressive because he is young and that is natural because as a young player you have that energy. So sometimes we as senior players we go to him and tell him to stay cool and play well. If he makes a mistake I go and tell him that it’s fine and not to repeat the mistake again.”

The chances of Hyderabad making the Super Playoffs this season are now slim as they need to win their remaining matches and hope other results also go their way. But Rana is undeterred. “I still have faith in this team that we will reach the Super Playoffs. We still have matches to play and we will try to win those,” he concluded.