The Gujarat Fortune Giants will commence its campaign in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 7 campaign against defending champions Bengaluru Bulls in Hyderabad on Sunday.

The Giants had gone down in a nail-biting thriller against the Bulls when the two teams clashed in the final of Season 6, but Gujarat’s home team insists that it has put the result behind it, and is starting afresh.

“Yes, it was an unforgettable final. But it is the past. We have young legs and fresh josh in the team. We are confident to better our performance as compared to last season. In fact, players are ready to play the match even today. They all are geared up. Josh is certainly very high,” remarked Giants coach Neer Gulia.

The coach refused to cede any psychological advantage to the Bengaluru Bulls.

“We committed a few mistakes in the final. But it won’t happen again. We have rectified them during our two-month long high-octane camp. No stone is left unturned,” he insisted.    

The Giants have emerged as one of the best defence units in the Pro Kabaddi League. The chain formed by captain Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal harvested a league-high of 72 combined tackle points.

With 86 tackle points, Bhainswal was the second in the most tackle points list in Season 6, while Kumar was fourth with 76 tackle points. 

“Defence has been and shall remain our strength. We have worked very hard on this during the camp. Parvesh and Sunil are more matured now. There is also Ruturaj Koravi to further shore up the defence. Together, they have a big responsibility and role to play. I am sure they will not disappoint the fans,” said Gulia, who also said that the team also has “good raiders to complement the defence.”

Meanwhile, the Giants raid department will once again be led by dynamic Sachin Tanwar, who is among the four players the team retained. The 20-year-old Rajasthan born raider has come of age, and he singlehandedly led the raiding department with 190 points from 23 games in the last season.

“He is our main raider. We have confidence in his ability of getting points every time he raids the opposition. He is someone who inspires the team. When he gets points, the defence gets motivated,” said Gulia.

It’s not that the Giants will rely solely on young legs. The team added experience to its line-up by successfully bidding for Vinod Kumar and More GB during the auctions. However, the biggest catch, during the shuffling, was Iranian Abolfazl Maghsodloumahali.