Prime Volleyball League: Kolkata Thunderbolts eye second straight final

The defending champions entered the semifinals on the back of a stellar campaign with six wins and a solitary loss against the Calicut Heroes in the league stage.

“We have no pressure of being the defending champions. We are well prepared – both physically and mentally, for the semifinal. The equation between the coaching staff and the players is brilliant,” said Amritpal Singh – the assistant coach of Thunderbolts, to The Bridge just hours ahead of their semifinal clash.

Though they have defeated the Bengaluru Torpedoes earlier in the tournament in the 2023 PVL opener, the Thunderbolts are in no mood to take their opponents lightly.

“Every team which has made it to the semifinals are good. We will rely on statistics and matchups to decide our on court combination for the match. We will go back to the drawing board and analyse who is playing well and take them into the match,” the assistant coach said.

Amritpal Singh also believes that their two senior pros – Vinit Kumar and Ashwal Rai, will have a big role to play in the clash.

“Experience matters very much in such a crucial stage of the tournament. Vinit and Ashwal have eighty to ninety percent involvement on whatever transpires on the court. They always have a big say in all the matches they play,” he said.

The table-toppers despite their continuous victories this season are not bored of winning. They are motivated to further extend their dominance in PVL.

“We have the biggest motivator in PK Patodia sir. I always text him to motivate our team and players. He prepares excellent motivational speeches and delivers them before matches. That works for us and today is going to be no different,” Amritpal Singh signed off.