"When Naveen Kumar is raiding, it is hard to defend" - Puneri Paltan coach Anup Kumar backs defenders after loss to Dabang Delhi

Anup Kumar-coached Puneri Paltan didn't have the brightest of starts to their Pro Kabaddi 2021 campaign, falling to a 30-41 loss to Dabang Delhi KC in Match 5 of PKL 8.

Young Naveen Kumar was the star of the show with 16 points to his name, and his exuberance on the mat, complemented by Vijay Malik's 9 raid points saw the Paltan pick up only 5 tackle points throughout the match.

Commenting on the Paltan defenders' poor showing in their opening encounter, Anup shed light on how Naveen's raiding was quite hard to get past on the day.

"Defense didn't play well, everyone could see that today. The raiding unit did well in comparison. It's not that the defenders were too aggressive, but when someone like Naveen Kumar is raiding from the opposite side, it's hard for anyone to defend. Sometimes what happens is if you make errors early on, the confidence goes down. I tried to motivate the defenders quite a bit, but it didn't work out in the end," Anup responded to a question from Sportskeeda.

Anup Kumar hopeful of Rahul Chaudhari performing better in upcoming Pro Kabaddi 2021 matches

One of Puneri Paltan's biggest signings from the Pro Kabaddi Auction, 'Showman' Rahul Chaudhari made his debut for the franchise, but faded away after a confident start.

Rahul managed to pocket just 5 points from 10 raids, and he was subbed off with about 5-6 minutes to go in the second half. Despite the ace raider's sluggish start to Pro Kabaddi 2021, the Pune coach is eager to see him bounce back strong.

"Rahul started off well, he played to our expectations, it's not like he flopped fully. I hope he does better in the coming games," Anup told Sportskeeda.

He further explained how the defenders were off the mark quite a bit, and that played a major hand in their opening fixture loss.

"A match cannot be won just by depending on the defense or raiding departments. Both departments need to gel well to bring up the win. The reason for our loss today is that the defensive unit was a little loose."

After a stinging loss in Match 5 of Pro Kabaddi 2021, Puneri Paltan will be itching to get some points to their name with a win when they take on the Telugu Titans tomorrow.

To view yesterday's Pro Kabaddi match, click here.