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After an impressive start to his Star Sports Pro Kabaddi campaign, Kuldeep Singh of the Jaipur Pink Panthers realised that coming down was also an integral part of a sportsman’s life.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Kuldeep, who hails from Rohtak, spoke about his own performance and gave his thoughts about playing in the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi.
Here are the excerpts:
Q. You started your Star Sports Pro Kabaddi career with an awesome performance against U Mumba. How are you feeling?
Yes, that was the first match and I was under pressure. We did not win, but the pressure and bit of fear was inside me. This is not there now. I will try to play much better in future.
Q. Would you like to tell us about the Kabaddi you played before that?
Yes, I played for the Railways before that. I played at the national level.
Q. What is the difference in Star Sports Pro Kabaddi and the normal Kabaddi you played before?
There is not much difference at the technical level. But yes, this is much bigger level of Kabaddi, which getting telecast all over. Big celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Amir Khan, Shahrukh Khan etc come to watch the games. We got the chance to talk to them, and perform in front of them.
Q. Have you ever met any big celebrity before?
No, I haven’t met any star before that. First time I met Abhishek Bachchan sir during the training session.
Q. Do you think you will ever get to perform at a big stage like Star Sports Pro Kabaddi, in addition to the national team?
No, I haven’t thought anything like that. I was lucky to get selected and I got a chance to perform at such big stage in front of everyone. I am happy for my performance.
Q. As a defender, which player do you find the most difficult to tackle in Star Sports Pro Kabaddi 2015?
Till now Shabeer Bapu and Anup Kumar are the most powerful raider. I think Anup and Shabeer are the best raider this season.
Q. What kind of support are you getting from the senior players in your team?
All the senior players including coach keep telling me things during the match and after the match. They tell me how to tackle players. They told me that I must try to bring the player inside, if he is near me then only to tackle else not and how to tackle a player etc.
Q. You are playing as a defender in Jaipur Pink Panthers, but you also do regular raids for the team. Do you want to shed light on that?
Before that, I always played as an all-rounder. I used to raid for my previous team and this is what I am doing here. I will continue my raiding and try to get more points in raids also.
Q. You amazed everyone in your first match, but the second one was not that great. How did you prepare your strategy for later on?
I am satisfied with my performance in the first match. Going forward I will use my full power and try to play much better. I will try to lead my team to victory.
