Ahmedabad Defenders have made a rollicking start to the ongoing Prime Volleyball League as they won their third consecutive match of the season. The Defenders defeated Hyderabad Black Hawks by 4-1 (15-13, 15-10, 15-12, 15-8, 9-15) on Thursday at the Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad.

Thus, Defenders is at the top in the standings with six points under their bag. Ahmedabad Defenders head coach Sajad Hussain Maik was delighted with his team’s consistent performance and heaped praise on captain Muthusamy Appavu.

Malik said in the post-match presentation, “I think we have reached the moon (after the team’s third win). Really happy with the team’s performance. We played according to our plans and thus the results went our way, as we had thought”.

Ahmedabad also played Sanju in place of Ryan. Speaking about the change, Malik said, “We had prepared Sanju for the match and he was ready. We knew there would be the analyser with Hyderabad’s coach and we wanted to shock them by giving him the chance. Sanju was always match-fit for this match irrespective of Ryan’s fitness”,

Meanwhile, Muthusamy was awarded the Player of the match for his fine performance. Speaking on the team’s captain match-winning show, Malik added, “Muthusamy is regarded as one of the best setters in India. We had always thought that if he would be on our team, the side would always perform to the best of their abilities. I am speechless and his performance is just high level”.

Ahmedabad Defenders will look to continue the good show in the ongoing PVL 2022 season. They have definitely ticked the right boxes in the initial phase of the tournament. The Defenders will next face Bengaluru Torpedoes on Thursday.