With the same Yoddha spirit and reignited passion, UP Yoddha are ready to set the stage on fire once again. The new ProKabaddi season is upon us and the team is ready for their first tussle against the Bengal Warriors on Wednesday at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad. The squad retained its core and went through a major refresh this season with nine new players joining this season’s camp.
The most lethal defender in the corner last ProKabaddi season, our captain Nitesh Kumar certainly has a reputation to live up to. Captain consistent Nitesh had a total of 100 tackle points in ProKabaddi Season 6 with an average of four tackle points per match. Furthermore, this feat was never performed, Nitesh was the first defender in the history of the league to achieve this number. He is surely a player to watch out for in our season opener.
Our raiding unit will see a revamp with the signing of experienced raiders Monu Goyat & Surender Singh. The trio of Rishank Devadiga, Monu Goyat & Shrikant Jadhav have more than 1000 raid points to their name in their ProKabaddi career. A perfect blend of speed, strength & technique, these raiders are expected to be a very impressive combination this ProKabaddi Season 7.
A key ingredient of U.P. Yoddha’s winning formula from the previous two ProKabaddi seasons, veteran cover defender Jeeva Kumar, is now a part of the Bengal Warriors. Our incredible cover defenders, youngster Ashu Singh, our elite retained player Amit Narwal & Iranian all-rounder Mohsen Maghsoudloujafari will aim to fill that void and resultantly impress Jeeva who will be present in the opposite camp.
We faced Bengal Warriors thrice last season - drawing the first two games and finally breaking the deadlock in the last clash with a win. In a different format this year, we will face the Bengal Warriors twice this season. Our coaches Jasveer Singh & Arjun Singh have worked with the players on our last season’s shortfalls as we hope for the results to follows.
Key Battle - Nitesh Kumar vs Maninder Singh
Nitesh Kumar, who had a tackle strike rate of 65 per cent in ProKabaddi Season 6, will aim to dominate his part of the mat. On the other side of the mat, the fastest raider ever to reach 500 ProKabaddi points, Bengal Warriors Captain Maninder Singh will target to break our defence. Record-breakers, superstars & ProKabaddi heavyweights - the battle between these two will be a treat to watch.
Watch U.P Yoddha in action LIVE on 24th July against the Bengal Warriors only on Star Sports and Hotstar at 7:30 PM.
