PKL 2019 | Was mentally prepared to give 100%, says Rishank Devadiga
After winning the match against U Mumba on Wednesday, raider Rishank Devadiga has stated that he was prepared to give his all into this game and this attitude encouraged his team members to do well. Devadiga also spoke about what was going through his mind in the last minutes of the game.
After losing their first two games, UP Yoddha were under pressure to do well in their third game against U Mumba. UP Yoddha beat U Mumba 23-27 in a well-fought match and finally managed to open their account in the seventh edition. In the initial stages, both the teams were almost neck to neck but by the end of the first half, UP managed to inflict an all-out on U Mumba hence taking a lead of two points.
This lead gave them the upper hand and even though Mumba came close, they weren’t able to win the game. In their defensive unit, Sumit scored six points which gave them immense confidence. Devadiga also made a comeback to the team and seemed to be instructing the players throughout the game. Even though he scored only two points, his focus was to stay on the mat.
“Playing in Mumbai is always special and for me it’s a dream. I’ve been playing for three seasons with U.P. Yoddha now, but I still have a soft corner for Mumbai because I started in this league with U Mumba. There’s a different atmosphere here and I was confident of doing well here. I had mentally prepared myself to give a 100% in this game irrespective of anything and that seemed to also rub off on the team,” Devadiga said in the post-match press conference.
“The feeling is good (being back). I had a bit of a muscle problem just before the season began. It was pretty disappointing for me because at the start of the season we thought we were set. Looking at the Mumbai leg, I was determined to get fit and help my team."
In the last minute and half of the game, U Mumba was two points behind and Fazel Atrachali even managed to tackle Devadiga but before initiating the tackle, Atrachali had stepped out of the line and hence the tackle was not permitted and UP Yoddha took a bigger lead.
“In the last one and a half minutes we had our second raid. So, if I had gone and attempted to get a point in that raid and ended up coming back empty handed then our defence would have six players and U Mumba would have a chance of getting a bonus. That would become a problem for us on our third raid because we could have ended up being trapped. That’s why I wasted the first 25 seconds and decided to try in the last five seconds of the raid.
"Even if I would be out after that I knew that their raiders cannot come and get a bonus point against our five defenders, he’d have to play the entire 30 seconds. So that’s what was on my mind and hence I took my time and attacked in the last five seconds. It worked in our favour that Fazel (stepped off court and) got out, resulting in a point for us.” Rishank concluded.
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