UP Yoddhas’ outstanding raiding effort enabled the team defeat Tamil Thalaivas 32–21 in the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday, capping an incredible comeback victory. The game might have gone any way, but the Yoddhas won for the second time in a row thanks to eight points from Guman Singh and six from Gagan. As the Yoddhas climbed up to eighth place in the standings, Hitesh’s high five in defense made sure Sagar Rathee’s high five was in vain.
Guman Singh and Moein Shafaghi launched a string of fruitless raids in the first few minutes, but both defensive units maintained their position with poise and discipline. Gagan Gowda of the Yoddhas made the initial breakthrough with a successful Do-Or-die Raid that sent Nitesh Kumar off the mat and gave his team early momentum.
Mahender Singh led the Yoddhas’ defense, which appeared vigilant as they stopped Moein Shafaghi twice in short succession with timely tackles. But with to their star raider Arjun Deshwal, the Tamil Thalaivas eventually found rhythm. Points were regularly taken from the Yoddhas’ corners by his accuracy. Sagar Rathee’s steadfast defense was also very important; he scored several tackle points and assisted the Thalaivas in executing an ALL OUT.
The exchanges became more intense as the half went on, with both teams switching between short single-point returns and empty raids. However, Deshwal’s reliability made sure the Thalaivas led 17–14 at the interval, ensuring an evenly matched matchup in the second half.
Tami Thalavas’ Ronak opened the scoring after throwing Ashu Singh off the mat, but Bhavani Rajput had a hard time breaking through at the start of the second half. But the Yoddhas’ defense quickly grabbed control; Hitesh in particular was outstanding, stopping Tamil’s momentum with back-to-back tackles on Aashish and Moein Shafaghi.
The game changed to a tactical chess battle halfway through the half. After settling into a rhythm, Guman Singh launched several successful raids, including a pivotal double-point shot that eliminated Ronak and Narender Kandola. But the Thalaivas resisted; Deshwal attempted to regain control while Narender responded with two savage Do-Or-Die raids.
The final moments were nerve-wracking. Through Moein Shafaghi’s final raid, the Thalaivas tried to rally, but the Yoddhas remained calm. A fantastic performance was completed by Guman Singh. After falling behind at the half, the Yoddhas eventually pulled off an amazing comeback to win 32–31.
