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U Mumba lost their first match of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi season 2 against last year’s champions Jaipur Pink Panthers. After 8 successive victories, U Mumba’s first defeat resulted in them losing their top spot after Telugu Titans drew their final home leg match against Puneri Paltan to move to the summit.
While speaking to SportsKeeda U Mumba Coach E. Bhaskaran bemoaned the injuries to their main players for the defeat.
“The main reason for our defeat against Jaipur Pink Panthers was the absence of star raider Shabeer Bapu and right cover defender Jeeva Kumar. Jeeva was having shoulder pain and Shabeer is suffering from a hand strain. We decided to give rest to them to avoid any further injuries,” U Mumba Coach E. Bhaskaran said.
“Our first 7 was a bit unbalanced because of that. Most of the Jaipur Pink Panthers raiders like Jasvir Singh, Rajesh Narwal and Kuldeep all are left raiders, where Jeeva Kumar gives his cover.”
He also confirmed that Jeeva is fit now and will play the next match against Bengal Warriors while talking about why he thinks Anup Kumar failed to shine.
“Jeeva Kumar will play in the match against Bengal Warriors. This will give strengthen our defense and lead us to victory,” he continued. “Anup Kumar also not played his best game against Jaipur Pink Panthers. He was bit stressed after getting caught in multiple super tackles.”
Bhaskaran focuses on defence
The brain behind U Mumba’s success E. Bhaskaran defended their defensive strategy and termed it as a part of their strategy. He admitted that the team needs to be more clever in its approach and control their aggression when things aren’t going in their favour.
“Team was having very good defence. We can’t neglect any team by considering them weak. One team with good defence can defeat any team. We have to play according to the strong points and weak points of opponent.” He said.
“We play with less aggression, this is our style. Being more aggressive is not good in the game of kabaddi. We need to play mind games to win the game,” he concluded.
