Rakesh Kumar heaps praise on teammates and talks about Patna Pirates ahead of the final
On handling pressure situations and his teams current form
“Look individual performances don’t mean much in Kabaddi. We have to work as a team. Yes, sometimes there is some mental pressure when you’re not able to perform as expected. But if I stress too much on the mat, I don’t perform well. That’s why I don’t dwell much when we’re not able to score raid points or make successful tackles. Yes, a couple of mistakes will always be around the corner. I forget them quickly but always look to learn and improve from them”
“Yes, Patna has played really well this season. They have some young and fast players like Rohit Kumar. Their defense seems to be clicking too. But I did play for them for 2 seasons. So I have a very good relationship with them. But now I belong to U Mumba. In the end, if it’s Patna, Telugu, Pune or who ever, we still have to play Kabaddi on the mat.
Do you remember when U Mumba broke their winning streak this season?
“They weren’t losing at all and were on a continuous run of good form. I remember U Mumba won 9 matches on the trot last season. When we played them first, I remember Manpreet, their captain telling me about how they had beaten us by fourteen points or so last time around. I kept that in mind. U Mumba is a team of champions. We’re not weak. We had planned to keep our momentum going and our fans helped us that day as well. We felt happy that we beat a genuinely talented team”
On Fazel Atrechali and language issues with the Iranian
Yes, communication is very important in Kabaddi. Fazel is a good defender. We have a way of communicating in the team while playing. He understands them through signs and actions and so do we. English is a little bit of an issue. But planning for games is never an issue. He sometimes instructs us when we need to go for the tackle and we sometimes signal to him about backing off at the right time. Whatever little language issues we’re faced with, we have a manager who helps us too”
Your thoughts on Rishank’s sublime run of form
While some players like Anup and Jeeva were away on international duty, Rishank put in a great effort. We gave him the confidence that he is one of the best out there. He plays for the team. He obviously plays a very important role in our wins. He’s been awarded the best raider of the match for five times I think. It’s like this, until a raider doesn’t get the points for his team, the defense doesn’t seem as strong. I remember three matches when Rishank scored a lot of points and our defense greatly benefited from his performances. I am happy with his game play”
If someone were to make a movie on you, which actor do you think can play your role?
Haha. I am a big fan of Dharam Paaji (Dharmendra). But he obviously can’t play this role now. So I would like Sunny Deol to play my role.
