Exclusive: Want to emulate Naveen 'Express' in PKL, says raider Meetu

The young raider believes he hasn’t played up to the expectations.

Haryana Steelers' performance in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 has been a mixed bag so far. The team lost some matches before picking up their form. Many players have done well for the team. Players like Vikash Kandola, Jaideep, Rohit Gulia and Surender Nada have shown their true potential in the league. Young raider Meetu has also impressed everyone with his performances.

Meetu gave his best at the junior level and also showed his potential at national level Kabaddi matches. Hence, Haryana Steelers coach Rakesh Kumar included him in the team for the Pro Kabaddi League. The young raider has stood up to the coach's expectations and has so far scored more than 50 points.

In an exclusive conversation with Khel Now, Meetu spoke about his career and the experience of playing in the Pro Kabaddi League.

Selection in Haryana Steelers

Meetu started playing Kabaddi only for fun, but as time progressed, he started to take it seriously. He began playing Kabaddi around the age of 10-11 years. He reflected, “I started playing Kabaddi at the age of 10-11 in my village and school. After that, I started taking it seriously and took coaching. The Pro Kabaddi League also started after some time.”

The young sensation had performed tremendously in domestic tournaments. It also opened the path for his selection in the league. He caught the eye of coach Rakesh Kumar and was selected for the Haryana Steelers team during the auction.

He said, “I did well at the Junior Nationals and got the award for "Best Raider" twice. At the same time, the performance was good in the seniors and Rakesh sir selected me in the team after seeing me.”

It is a dream of any young player to become a part of the Pro Kabaddi League. It gives you the opportunity to play with the world's legendary players and when Meetu was selected in the Haryana Steelers team, his happiness knew no bounds.

He stated, “Rakesh sir selected me, who himself has been such a big player and there was a lot of happiness in my house. I really enjoyed it and I will get to learn a lot from his coaching.”

Wants to emulate Naveen Kumar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNsS5yd8Y_c

Meetu has scored more than 50 points this season and has impressed everyone, although the man himself is not happy with his performances. The raider said, “My performance has not been that good. What I thought was to be the best raider of the team, but nothing happened. However, there are still many matches left and I would like to do well in those. Coach sir is telling us about our mistakes, is also showing confidence and we will keep on improving.”

He is a young player and takes a lot of inspiration from Dabang Delhi's Naveen Kumar. The way Kumar has impressed everyone at a very young age, Meetu also wishes to perform in the same manner.

He remarked, “Naveen Kumar has been performing consistently since his first season and I have been taking inspiration from him. I want to play the same way, but there are some mistakes which have not led to that kind of performance.”

Learning from Vikas Kandola’s experience

The good thing for Meetu is that he is playing alongside a legendary raider like Vikash Kandola. He is continuously learning a variety of skills from his team's captain.

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He said, “I am benefiting a lot from playing with Vikas Kandola. He tells me in every way how to play and what raid to put. Pro Kabaddi League is a very big platform. Everyone had a lot of faith in me, although my performance has not been that good. Performing well in some matches has definitely increased my confidence.”

Views on his team’s performance

The performance of Haryana Steelers has seen a lot of ups and downs in the league so far. Regarding the performance of the team, Meetu said, “Pro Kabaddi League is a very big league and there are still a lot of matches to be played in it. Our team is slowly getting into the rhythm and will try to do well going forward. We will do our best to qualify for the playoffs. To win the match, it is necessary that both the defence and raiding department play well together.”

Meetu is trained by head coach Rakesh Kumar, who is his favourite player and idol.

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