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Jaipur Pink Panthers captain Manjeet Chhillar returned to action from a long injury lay-off during the Sonepat leg of the Pro Kabaddi Season 5 and immediately, he has lifted the spirits in the team. The former champions, who have been inconsistent this season, registered a draw with the Haryana Steelers in Sonepat and followed it up with a thumping 36-25 victory over the perpetual strugglers Dabang Delhi in the Zone A face-off between the two teams at the Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday.
It was Manjeet again who formed the backbone of the defence as their raiders ran riot. The all-rounder fetched three vital points for his team on a day when Abhishek Bachchan’s men did everything right in attack and defence.
The Jaipur coach Balwan Singh heaped praise on his skipper after their win and admitted that a fit Manjeet plays a crucial role in raising the confidence level of the Jaipur franchise.
“Everybody plays to win and we are no exception either. Today, we played our best and our Tiger Woods was in the mood. Manjeet is the real Kohinoor of the team. When he is fit and is in the mood, we get more confident.”
Balwan Singh also spoke highly of Nitin Rawal who was efficient in both the raiding and the grappling departments and brought 6 points. Lauding his speed and concentration, Singh called him the secret weapon of Jaipur.
“Nitin is the ‘Chhupa Rustam’ (secret weapon) of the team. He is very agile and focused,” he said.
The former Jaipur captain and one of the most dependable raiders of the team, Jasvir Singh was not there tonight but Balwan did not forget to mention him. His contributions, after all, have been immense and Balwan Singh opined that Jasvir’s excellent chemistry with Manjeet has been crucial for the team, who are now eyeing a comeback.
He stated, “Jasvir has excellent chemistry with the captain and all the team members have great bonding with each other. That is what is always able to keep the morale of the team high.”
The only grievance that Balwan had on the night was with the performance of Pawan Kumar. He grabbed six points but the coach believes that he can do much more with that abundant talent that he possesses.
“Pawan Kumar is perfect in height, weight, age, personality but I am not that happy with him. He has the talent to perform even better and can bring laurels for the Jaipur Pink Panthers and for his nation too,” he said, while signing off.
