On February 7, Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Gujarat Giants 36-31 to jump to fifth spot in the Pro Kabaddi League 8 table on 51 points.
The race for the playoffs is getting fiercer as the teams are now looking to win as many matches as possible from their remaining games. The Pink Panthers are no different. Before the game against the Giants, JPP were in the eighth position after 16 encounters, having earned seven victories and lost an equal number of fixtures.
“It was an important game for us, the Giants were coming into the game with a victory, it was a do or die game for us, that’s why it was important for us to win this game,”
said their captain Sandeep Dhull in an interaction with the media.
On being asked about the areas his team needs to work on going forward in the league, he stated:
“We need to focus more on our defence and improve there, whenever our defence does well, we win, whenever it doesn’t do well, we lose those games. When our defence plays well, our raiders also do well.”
The Pink Panthers are eighth on the list when it comes to team average tackle points with a score of 9.18. They are sixth in terms of total tackle points scored (149 from 17 games).
The most successful defender for them has been their captain Dhull himself, who got three High 5s so far in the PKL8.
Pro Kabaddi League season 8: top 5
| # | Team | Matches played | Points |
| 1 | Patna Pirates | 16 | 60 |
| 2 | Dabang Delhi | 17 | 57 |
| 3 | Bengaluru Bulls | 19 | 55 |
| 4 | Haryana Steelers | 17 | 53 |
| 5 | Jaipur Pink Panthers | 17 | 51 |
Jaipur assistant coach Upendra Kumar believes that his team’s defence has improved during the course of the tournament. He told the reporters that the likes of Dhull and Sahoo have done well for them.
But it’s not been an easy ride for them as they are learning on the way. The coaching staff motivates them all the time and gives them the belief that they can do well.
