After losing an intense battle against Calicut Heroes, defending champions Kolkata Thunderbolts will look to re-establish their dominance when they square off against a struggling Mumbai Meteors side in the second season of the Prime Volleyball League.
The Thunderbolts have won three out of four matches so far, while Mumbai have won just one out of four matches in the season.
Cody Caldwell, one of the star players of the Kolkata Thunderbolts this season, opened up on the defeat of the Thunderbolts and how his team would prepare for the match.
“From the last match, we had a few players who had minor discomforts before the match and hence, we were not as well prepared as we normally are. But we still fought hard and it was very close. But our team has not shown its full potential, so we are just waiting for the playoffs.
“Mumbai will go into the match with pressure on their mind. Their backs are against the walls – they’re going to play with everything they’ve got. They are going to give maximum effort and give it their all. Because if she loses this match then she can be out of the tournament. So we have to be ready with full spirit to give our best. It’s a high-stakes competition,” he said.
Cody also praised the Mumbai team and said that Kolkata will have to be at their best to beat the Meteors.
“Mumbai have a very strong team physically and have everything to be a successful team. They haven’t been able to build energy and momentum. We expect them to do their best and we have to make sure that our best is better than theirs.
Meanwhile, Meteor raider Hardeep Singh said that he has worked on the errors committed in the last few games and chalked out a strategy based on the strength of the opposition.
“Last time we made some mistakes. We’ve focused on them during training sessions and we’ve discussed how we can avoid making those same errors. We have also seen how the Kolkata Thunderbolts are performing and have devised some strategies based on that, Hardeep Singh said.
Hardeep said that the Thunderbolts would like to get back to winning ways and might feel a bit of pressure after their first loss.
He said, ‘After losing the last match, there will be pressure on both the teams. We will fully execute our plans and we are confident that we will register victory. There is a strong unity in our team and we are communicating well. So, it will be a good game,” he signed off.