After a 36-20 victory over South Korea in the semi-final, Indian Kabaddi team coach Srinivas Reddy on Friday conceded that knock-out games are always high pressure matches.
Reddy revealed that his message to the team was to go all out and not worry about points in the crucial tie as India set their date with powerhouse Iran in the summit clash on Saturday.
“Knock out games are always pressure games. At the start, our raiding got a bit slowed down which the South Koreans took full advantage of it. But our defenders started taking points, our raiders clicked and got the lead,” Reddy told reporters after the match.
“In the initial 10 minutes, they played neck and neck. I asked my raiders to play an all out game because we have some good defenders to revieve them. This was our strategy,” he disclosed.
For the first time in the tournament, India were put under pressure and that forced the Indian coach to rethink on their strategy.
South Korea straightaway put pressure on the Indian defenders with some good raiding, thanks to Jang Kun Lee.
Heaping praises on Monu Goyat, Girish Maruti and skipper Ajay Thakur, Reddy said: “Throughout the match, Ajay took some great points and then Monu, defenders Girish and Mohit Chillar also supported him well.”
India and all the five other teams have sported the comfortable Alcis Sports kits in this tournament.