Fed Cup practice for I League: Yadav

And rightly so. Heavy rains lashing the city and late arrival of the players from their respective hometowns had caused a lot of mismanagement in the selection of the team resulting in just three days of pre-season training for the players. “No proper ground was available for training because of the heavy rains and we were forced to conduct our sessions on the beach,” said Yadav. With the preparation being less than satisfactory for the Federation Cup,Yadav is not expecting much in terms of a result,but is looking at the tournament to be a handy stopgap arrangement before the I League season commences in October. “The match practice that we will get will be very valuable. We also have a few new players and we will use this tournament to gel well and improve our understanding and combination. Having said that we will treat this tournament like any other tournament and we want nothing short of a victory,” he said.

The ongoing tournament will prove to be a good practice ground for Yadav’s team as they are slated to play the first four rounds in the Balewadi stadium itself. This,owing to a delay in the preparation of the Cooperage ground. While Yadav is happy to get some much needed practice on the new adopted home ground and more so to avoid the long journey to Kolhapur,he is still disappointed at the fact that the team will have to play away from home. “The Kolhapur matches were very strenuous. Overnight travel to play on a less than satisfactory pitch was getting increasingly difficult. Playing in Pune will be much better for us but we will still miss playing in front of a home crowd. But whatever is happenening is happening for the best and we are looking forward to playing on a Cooperage ground full of Mumbai supporters,” he said.

As the players stepped on to the pitch,it all came together for them. Although the passing and the general understanding was a little rusty,the fitness levels seemed to be right up with with the best,much to the Yadav’s relief. The team stuck it out and earned themselves a well deserved draw against the I league champions,giving Yadav confidence ahead of their tie against Pailan Arrows on Tuesday. “The fitness is there. We will have a kickabout on Monday evening and focus on our passing and combination ahead of the second match,” said Yadav.