Every Point Counts in This Competitive Season Says UP Yoddhas Management as Team Draws with Dabang Delhi

Pune, December 6, 2024: In an electrifying contest at the Badminton Hall of Balewadi Sports Complex, UP Yoddhas and Dabang Delhi K.C. played out an intense 32-32 tie at the Pune leg during PKL Season 11 on Thursday evening.

The closely contested battle saw both teams trading points throughout the match, with neither side able to establish a decisive advantage. The dynamic duo of Gagan Gowda and Bhavani Rajput proved to be the cornerstone of UP Yoddhas' offensive strategy. Gowda's impressive tally of 13 points highlighted his growing importance to the team, while Rajput's crucial 10-point contribution demonstrated his reliability in pressure situations.

However, despite the promising offensive display by the UP Yoddhas in Thursday's match, the team's defense struggled to maintain consistency, which preventing them from securing a win in the tightly contested match.

UP Yoddhas' star defender Sumit Sangwan acknowledged areas for improvement while highlighting the team's strategic approach, "While our raiders performed exceptionally well today, we need to tighten our defense in upcoming matches. We will analyze video footage and plan accordingly, and we'll continue to focus on strengthening our defensive capabilities to secure better results."

Reflecting on the match, UP Yoddhas' Assistant Coach Upendra Malik emphasized the strategic importance of the result: "With six matches remaining, no team can afford to take unnecessary risks. The points table is incredibly tight, with minimal differences between teams. Today's performance, particularly from Gagan Gowda and Bhavani Rajput, shows our team's potential. Gowda's consistency and Bhavani's crucial points in critical situations were particularly noteworthy."

Looking ahead, UP Yoddhas will face Puneri Paltan in their next encounter on December 7th at the Balewadi Sports Complex, as they continue their campaign in PKL Season 11. The team aims to build on this performance and secure crucial points in their upcoming matches as the race for the playoffs heats up.

About GMR Sports

GMR Sports, the sports division for GMR Group was incorporated in 2008 coinciding with the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League.

GMR Sports was created with the vision to utilise sports as a platform to help form a connect with the community at large, and cricket as a sport was the best platform to kick start this connection, thereby leading to the group's first-ever sports initiative.

Delhi Capitals – Delhi's first ever cricket franchise and the only one that represented the national capital of India, marked the beginning of this venture.
 
Soon GMR Sports led the way in furthering their goals with the addition of another sport that in the truest sense connected the Indian community in a strong way. UP Yoddhas – The Pro Kabaddi League's Franchise representing India's largest state Uttar Pradesh was just that step towards providing the community with another reason to celebrate. In 2022, the Ultimate Kho Kho, a franchise representing the Telugu Speaking Region of India – Telugu Yoddhas were formed, making GMR Sports take another giant step of not only supporting indigenous sports but also giving another reason for the communities of the region to bond together in unison celebrating sports. In 2022, GMR Sports has expanded its footprints into the International Sports Leagues after acquiring the Dubai franchise of the International League T20 - Dubai Capitals, in UAE's newly announced T20 Cricket League. Further additions have been made to GMR Sports’ global sports portfolio with the addition of Seattle Orcas and Hampshire Cricket recently.