Exclusive: I aim to win PKL 10 as captain for Tamil Thalaivas says Sagar Rathee

The star defender has been appointed as the full-time captain this season.

In the 10th season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 10), the Tamil Thalaivas have made a remarkable start. In their first match, they defeated a strong team like Dabang Delhi by a significant margin of 42-31, indicating the team’s excellent performance. Ajinkya Pawar, with an outstanding raiding performance, scored a total of 21 points in the first match, almost single-handedly leading the team to victory. Narender Kandola also contributed well, scoring a total of 8 points. In defense, three players each secured 2 points, showcasing the overall strong performance of the Tamil Thalaivas as a team.

The Tamil Thalaivas do not have a big superstar player in their team, and they have appointed the right corner specialist Sagar Rathee as their captain. Sagar, who was part of the team in the previous season and delivered an impressive defensive performance, is continuing with the team this season. During an exclusive interview with Khel Now, Sagar Rathee revealed his biggest target for this season.

No pressure in the captaincy role

“I don’t feel any pressure about the captaincy. When a player becomes captain, there is some pressure on him because, as a player, he only needs to think about his individual performance. But when he becomes a captain, he has to lead the entire team. However, I am not taking any pressure on myself,” said Sagar.

Team’s performance has seen a significant improvement under Ashan Kumar

Ashan Kumar was appointed as the coach in the previous season, and since then, the team has undergone a complete transformation, reaching the semi-finals for the first time.

Speaking about the coach, Sagar mentioned, “Coach sir has provided us with excellent training. He has made the players work hard, and the results are evident. He will remain the coach until 2025, and because of this, the pressure on him has been relieved. They are now planning for the long term. The NVIP signings they have made are quite good, and they can prove to be excellent in the future.”

Managing youngsters is not difficult

Despite having many young players in the Tamil Thalaivas team, Sagar believes that there is no difficulty in managing them. He said, “There is no difficulty in managing young players. All the players are like friends, and we have met them before. We used to meet them in local tournaments.”

Fitness is our main focus.

The Tamil Thalaivas lost in the semi-final match last season, and according to Sagar, this season, the team’s main focus is on fitness to ensure no player gets injured in crucial matches.

He said, “Last time we had to face defeat in the semi-final because players got injured. This time we are focusing a lot on fitness so that no player gets injured in the knockout, and we reach the final.”

The sole goal in PKL 10 is to win the title.

According to Sagar Rathee, the responsibility on him has increased significantly due to the captaincy, and for this reason, his only target this time is to win the title for the team.

He said, “I don’t have any personal goal. The team has given me a significant responsibility, so my personal goal is to bring the trophy in my captaincy. I would say to the fans to keep supporting us.”

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