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It was the third loss in a row for the UP Yoddha at their home ground in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 against the Jaipur Pink Panthers on Sunday. A fiercely contested match, it saw both teams neck-to-neck throughout the game, before the side from Jaipur held their nerve towards the end to win 22-24, a narrow margin of two points.
There was great controversy in the last minute of the match as Jaipur, who were trailing by one point, were awarded one via a Jasvir Singh raid. However, replays showed that he had not crossed the midline completely and the home side were unable to review the call since they had already used up their referral earlier.
Nitin Tomar, the UP captain, looked flushed out and very dull in the post-match presser. He said, "We had planned to play with composure, keep our calm and not get too aggressive. My boys have been playing well, but they make a few mistakes some times during the game. The overall performance is satisfactory, but it is simply luck that is not favoring us."
When asked to share his thoughts on the referee's decision in the end, he said, "The decision can be a human error. No one is perfect and the referee is not God. So there are chances of mistakes in the decision-making."
Abhishek Bachchan, the owner of the Jaipur Pink Panthers, joyfully commented, "It is a tradition of the Pink Panthers to lose the first game and then be strong throughout the league."
He added, "We are not just a team, but a family. We work on emotions, talk, discuss and then make strategies. Both Manjeet and Selvamani, the best players of the team are injured. It was a crucial match for us as we relied entirely on the young players. Only Jasvir and Sombir were experienced and they didn't let us down. The game by the youngsters today was commendable."
The actor also praised the UP Yoddha and lauded them for running his side close."One team will win and the other has to lose. UP's game was incredible today and they are one of the strongest teams with some of the best players. It was just not their day," he went on to say.
The coach of the Jaipur team, Balwan Singh, explained the extent of the injury crisis in the team and revealed two further players have been injured. He said, "Our injured players Manjeet and Selvamani are eager to make a comeback. Manjeet got injured in the third match itself but continued to play. Selvamani too is wanting to come back but our focus is the well-being of our players."
He added, "Two more players are also injured, but for their privacy, I would not like to name them. Still, the team put up a great show."
