Deepak Hooda: Jaipur Pink Panthers didn’t have a good Delhi leg as they lost back to back matches at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex. The first defeat came against the Telugu Titans, and they failed to stage a strong comeback as they went down to Bengaluru Bulls, also giving up their pole position.
Here are some excerpts from the Press Conference:
Q.1) After getting a good start in the tournament, the team (Jaipur) has lost 3 out of their last 4 games. Don’t you think it shouldn’t have happened during this phase of the tournament?
Pratap Shetty(Coach): “This is not happening with just our team only. If you see the format structure of the league, one or the other team is going through the same. Winning one match then losing another. This is the beauty of this league. The way Bengaluru Bulls played today, with their good defense during the early stages of the game. We had made a plan for Pawan Sehrawat and we were also successful in keeping him quiet to some extent but unfortunately, the other raider performed well today. Their defense was at the peak today that’s why we failed to capitalize on the as we lost our raiders. They took a significant lead of 20 points. Although we made a comeback, but the time was not enough to take a lead.”
Q.2) Captain, the opposition captain got out in the early stages of the game, your team had an opportunity to take a lead in the first half. Where did you exactly failed to capitalize?
Deepak Hooda(Captain): I think it was our raiders’ fault especially I am upset with my own performance. I take the blame on myself because if I don’t score the raid points then how will the team gain the confidence. So I take responsibility for today’s match.”
Q.3) Coach, today neither Deepak’s performance was up to the mark nor Sandeep Dhull could perform well in today’s match. Don’t you think the team is dependent on both of the players?
Pratap Shetty (Coach): Naturally, our team’s strike players are good and dependency on these players is obvious. But sometimes the players are unable to perform. We gave the opportunity to the other players in which they performed fairly well. Talking about today’s match, Sandeep gave away 3-4 multiple points in pressure. Initially, when your Raider doesn’t perform well the defense also comes under pressure that’s why they are unable to score the tackle points.”
Q.4) Deepak, the team has faced two back to back losses, especially your performance. What flaw has gotten into your performance that you are unable to perform lately?
Deepak Hooda (Captain): “Actually I got fever during the Chennai Leg for 6-7 days, and since that my performance has declined. Even I realize that I am unable to deliver from the past two matches. The team has to bear the loss because of this. I hope that I recover well from this phase and play well in the next game. “
Q.5) What would be your strategy for the next matches?
Deepak Hooda (Captain): “Well no one would tell the team’s strategy but we will try to make a comeback as we will be playing our next match on 31st of this month. We will be practicing hard till then and work on our loop holes. The loop holes being the raiding department of our team and we will work on that the most.”
