There are good players and then there are those special individuals who are capable of elevating their game ten notches higher. One such in form player is Telugu Titans’ Rahul Chaudhari. Season one’s most successful raider manages to impose a sense of calmness on the pandemonium that surrounds his team mates on the court.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Rahul Chaudhari talked about what lies ahead for his young and dynamic side.
Here are the excerpts:
Q. How important is it to have experience in the squad? Heading into the later stages, do you think familiarity will be vital to power your team forward?
Well experience in handling real life match scenarios is very important. Taking the lead in a match is just half the job done. Protecting the lead only comes with maturity and experience. It’s like this – a good team can’t keep winning points and conceding points at regular intervals. A good team takes the lead and protects it with some great defending. One of the reasons for our average performance last season was lack of experience in our defensive department. We feel confident in that area now.
Q. In terms of fitness and training, has the team done anything differently while preparing for the Pro Kabaddi League?
Yes, we have had special training camps during the pre season. The boys participated in three specialized fitness camps for this tournament. The coach also put us through a combination camp which I believe helped us a lot in adjusting to the demands of the tournament. Our two Iranian players (Meraj Sheykh and Hadi Oshtorak) arrived late for the pre season, but they have settled in very well and are playing some good kabaddi.
Also read: 5 reasons why kabaddi should be included in the Olympics
Q. What do you have to say about the quality of the teams in the League?
Apart from our team, all the teams have famous and established players in their squad. We have a young squad. In terms of experience, you look at Bangalore Bulls, Jaipur and U Mumba; they have celebrity status players in their squad. Many of their players are household names – Anup Kumar, Navneet (Gautam) and Manjeet (Chhillar) to name a few.
You will not come across star players like that in our team. Out team consists of young bloods who are raring to go. I would like to talk about the player in our left cover position – Sandeep. He is the youngest player in this tournament. But, for an 18-year-old, he plays with an extremely cool head.
Q. Your favorite Actress?
Salman Khan
Q. Not actor, Actress?
(Thinks deeply for thirty seconds) Aishwarya Rai.
