Hyderabad, Oct 20 (IANS) Head coach B.C Ramesh and skipper Aslam Inamdar expressed their satisfaction as defending champion Puneri Paltan started their campaign in Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) with a resounding win against the Haryana Steelers.

Reflecting on what was a clinical showing by the team on Saturday evening, coach BC Ramesh spoke at length about how happy he was to see his side’s performance on the mat.

“The whole team played really well and worked well as a team, the raiders and defenders combined brilliantly together, which was great to see from the team’s point of view. It was very important for us to win our opening game of PKL Season 11, and we are delighted to have started off well,” Ramesh said in a post-match interaction on Saturday.

“Our squad is a very talented one, and the players also executed the plans very well, everyone delivered on their individual responsibilities properly, which is the most important thing. Every player contributed in their department and worked well in sync as a unit,” he added.

Skipper Inamdar echoed the coach’s thoughts and said in team sports, individual milestones are not important.

“As Puneri Paltan came into our first game and PKL Season 11 with a positive intent and we never look at the Super 10s or High 5s because for us it is the contribution to the team. And whatever small mistakes and errors we made we will work on it as the season goes on,” he said.

Looking ahead to the next game against the Patna Pirates, the Puneri Paltan captain Aslam Inamdar said, “The sport of Kabaddi is one that progresses very fast and things change every day. And yes, the Patna Pirates have won the title thrice, but we also won the PKL last year, and our team is also quite strong and well-settled.

"We will work out our plans properly, and just like the first game, the Puneri Paltan will aim to play a complete team game when we face the Patna Pirates. We are not taking any unnecessary pressure, but we will fight right through the game and we will try to win the game for sure,” he added.