PKL 2019 | Corners are backbone of the team, says Sandeep Narwal
U Mumba’s right corner defender Sandeep Narwal has said that a team is incomplete without proper corner defenders. Narwal, who has scored five points in the first two matches this season, has also stated that defending from a corner position requires to develop similar footwork to that of raiding.
Corner positions are the outermost positions on the mat. When a raider comes on the opponent's side of the court, corner defenders have the most time to initiate a tackle and are considered a very important part of the defence. U Mumba's corner combination, this season, includes the most successful Iranian defender in PKL Fazel Atrachali and a capable all-rounder Sandeep Narwal.
“Corners are the backbone of the team. If you don’t focus on that, then the whole defence crumbles. So there is always pressure. The amount of footwork a raider makes, the same it is for corners. For covers, you need to maintain a distance of two metres when moving front and behind but for corners you need to stay on your toes all the time and make swift movements,” Sandeep Narwal told Scroll.in.
Atrachali was a part of the U Mumba team that won the title in Season 2 and was a part of Patna Pirates team when they won in Season 4. The U Mumba skipper had tired many positions at the start of his career but then settled at the corner position.
“I tried to play in several positions. As a cover defender, you don’t get much chance to react when raiders come to attack. But as a corner defender, you can take them on,” Atrachali explained.
Sandeep Narwal has been the part of PKL since its inception and has more than 200 points in raids and tackles combined. Narwal’s signature move is block and he has 66% tackle strike rate as well.
“When I used to play at the start, I mainly used to block from the front. Now I put in more dives and ankle holds. If you want to take the game deep, you need to work hard on keeping the defense compact,” the 26-year-old said.
Atrachali has been playing Kabaddi for a long time and has been a witness to the change the game has undergone. He has known the game from the time when many moves weren’t even discovered.
“A few years ago kabaddi was simple. Before raiders used to challenge one on one, so it was easy to block them. But now they don’t come to you immediately, especially younger players. They are more dangerous. They know the dubki, the jump and many other tricks.
"When you play someone old, it is easy because you know what they will do. But with young players you need to be careful because they’re unpredictable. But these things are also good because the competition gets interesting,” the Mumba skipper concluded.
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