‘A win for kabaddi and a better future for the youngsters is our wish’

HYDERABAD: “A win for kabaddi and a better future for the youngsters. This is our wish,” said BC Ramesh, Puneri Paltan head coach, as the coaches of the teams, which have qualified for the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 Playoffs, got together to share their thoughts on the tenth season so far.

The six coaches included Puneri’s BC Ramesh, Jaipur Pink Panthers’ Sanjeev Baliyan, Dabang Delhi’s Rambir Singh Khokhar, Gujarat Giants’ Ram Mehar Singh, Haryana Steelers’ Manpreet Singh and Patna Pirates’ Narender Redhu. The PKL Season 10 Playoffs will be held from February 26 to March 1 in Hyderabad.

Delhi’s Rambir Singh was proud of the younger members of his team, who have done well to take their side to the playoffs. Highlighting several players, he said, “Our team’s defence and offence have been very good. Naveen was in good form and after his injury, Ashu did very well. He has improved, especially after becoming the captain of the team.” But facing Delhi in Eliminator 1 will be Patna, whose head coach Narender Redhu said that mental strength will play a key role, “The most important thing is mental strength. The mind plays an important role in the sport of kabaddi. We need to understand the situation of the opponent teams and set our strategies accordingly. The playoffs can go either way, and we need to be in the right mind frame to win these crucial matches, and especially the trophy.”

Haryana’s Manpreet Singh reiterated that despite doing well in the league stage, his team will need to be careful in the Playoffs, “We use players depending on the situations that the team is in. In a match that the players give their 100%, that team usually goes on to win the game. In the playoffs, we need to be very careful. Our league stage mistakes will not count much because this is a different set of matches.”

The Gujarat Giants will face off against Haryana in Eliminator 2. Ahead of the game, Ram Maher Singh heaped praise on the team skipper, “We have played against all the teams in this competition. But our skipper Fazel Atrachali is among the most experienced players in the competition, according to me. He has played in 4 Asian Games. Others like Parteek Dahiya have also done well but such raiders will need support from other raiders as well. This is something we will work on before the playoffs.”

Meanwhile, Jaipur’s Sanjeev Baliyan said the team shouldn’t think too far ahead, “Before thinking about winning the title, we need to concentrate on the semi-final game first. We need to give everything. I cannot pressurise my players into wining the trophy, because the semi-final sometimes can be more crucial than a final. As for defending the title, we will definitely try our best.” To wrap up the proceedings, Puneri’s BC Ramesh lauded young defender Abinesh Nadarajan, saying, “Abinesh is a great player. He is looking to master different tackling techniques. He needs to work on his performances and he will surely play for the national team.”