Puneri Paltan’s five point-reverse against the Bengal Warriors in Kolkata was a bitter pill to swallow for captain Manjeet Chhillar. Despite an exceptional thirteen points figure, Chhillar finished on the losing side, and that did not go well with the champion in him.
Craving for support, Manjeet Chhillar got little from his Puneri Paltan team-mates, and the eventual defeat left a disconsolate Manjeet Chhillar licking his wounds.
The trend seemed to continue in the early parts of Puneri Paltan’s first home game against the Patna Pirates as a lack of support to Chhillar saw him get out twice in the opening ten minutes. Distraught and disgruntled, Chhillar saw his Puneri Paltan team succumb to an all-out and facing a possibility of a third defeat as the agony piled on Puneri Paltan’s lone ranger.
Ajay Thakur, the man Manjeet Chhillar has the most faith in and perhaps the man who was letting him down the most, took it upon himself to change things for his side and his skipper.
So cometh the hour, cometh the man, Ajay Thakur who seemed lost this campaign, found his mojo, helping the Puneri Paltan fight back from 14-4 down to bag a 30-30 draw with a last-gasp two point-raid and bring the smile back to Manjeet Chhillar’s face.
Thakur and Chillar share their views about each other with Sportskeeda
In a heartfelt revelation to Sportskeeda after the game, Ajay Thakur pretty much dedicated the performance to his captain and companion for the past three seasons.
“Manjeet was a dejected figure these last few days. He was almost fighting a lone battle for no good as me and my team-mates couldn’t support him enough for us to win games,” Ajay said.
“I have been with Manjeet since the start of Pro Kabaddi and I don’t like when he is so unhappy. I was feeling very guilty for Manjeet and before the game today I told him that I won’t let him down and do all to support him,” Ajay Thakur expressed.
“Today I am happy because Manjeet is smiling again and now I believe we can win a lot of games,” Ajay added.
Manjeet Chhillar also disclosed his side of things to Sportskeeda that went to show the kind of relationship that he shares with Ajay Thakur. He said: “I can never be disappointed with Ajay Thakur. I know the kind of player that he is.
“Today I told him to go all-out with his raiding and assured him that we will get him back quickly even if he got out. And I think he did exactly that and that’s why we drew the game,” Manjeet responded after he was asked about being disappointed with his companion’s performance.
It is said that a friend in need is a friend indeed. Manjeet and Ajay have just added another testimony to the saying. Ajay’s performance erased Manjeet’s pain, as Manjeet’s backing helped Ajay gain. The duo who are all smiles again will have more such stories to the script, but this time, it will be the Puneri Paltan’s gain at the cost of their opponent’s pain.
