PKL Exclusive: Patna Pirates’ defense will fire once again: Sachin Tanwar

Young raiders gave their opinion on many issues.

Just about a month is left for Season 9 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The Patna Pirates had a remarkable last season as they reached the finals. Dabang Delhi defeated them in a close encounter to lift their maiden title. Now, Patna would not want to repeat the same mistake this time as they are geared up for the upcoming season. The three-time champion has included Sachin Tanwar and Rohit Gulia in the team, whereas they also picked Sukesh Hegde just a few days back. Khel Now talked to both Sachin Tanwar and Rohit Gulia ahead of the upcoming season:

Rohit Gulia

The mindset of the players before the season

Rohit Gulia is all set to give his best in the upcoming season. He has his eyes on the title this time. He said, "Players always look to perform well. Coaches are always available to guide us through what to do at what time. The training camp is one of the best places to get all these information. A new player would always look to do well. I'm ready to crown Patna champions for the fourth time. The training has been going very well these days."

Role in the team

Rohit Gulia’s inclusion is a big boost for Patna Pirates as they have got a brilliant all-rounder. He would be one of the main raiders in the side. On his role in this season, he said, "I am not thinking a lot about this. For me, the whole team is equal. Whoever does well is surely going to get a chance. A player can’t do well in all the games. Someone will do better in one game while some other player will play well in some other game. Our focus is just to win matches for the team."

About the fans in the arena

In the past couple of seasons, Kabaddi fans were not allowed to watch the games in the stadium due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This time, however, the fans are ready to cheer for their teams from the stands, and even the players are excited. On this, Rohit said, "Having fans inside the stadium is a different feeling altogether. It always feels good to see fans cheering for their teams. If a team is not playing well at some moment, fans play an important role in boosting the team’s confidence."

Sachin Tanwar

Pressure of retaining

Sachin Tanwar was excellent for Patna Pirates in the previous edition. He scored the maximum raid points for the team and even made it into the top 10 raiders of Season 8. This was the only reason he was retained by the franchise. He said, "I am not under any pressure. I just want to give my best and make sure not to repeat the same mistakes again."

Expectations from defense

The Pirates are known for their outstanding defense, and they did a spectacular job last season. Sachin feels even this time, their defense will do well. He said, "We have the same defense this time as well, and just like in Season 8, the defense department will do well again. There are many defenders who did well last time, and hopefully they will repeat the same performance."

Preparations for the season

Sachin Tanwar also told us about their preparations for the upcoming edition. He added, "We are working on our weaknesses. Apart from that, fitness is another major thing that we are working on. Coach is always available to help. There is not much difference in the coaching of Ram Meher Singh and Ravi Shetty. Even Ravi is following a similar training format."