With the matches coming thick and fast, Indian national kabaddi team’s captain Anup Kumar revealed that the team will celebrate their humongous semi-final win before devising a plan for the final, where they are set to play Iran. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda after the win over Thailand, Anup also talked about in-form raider Nitin Tomar, his retirement rumours and his new move.
“We will celebrate the semi-final win now (yesterday). We have an entire day before the final and that’s when we’ll start working on our plans for Iran – On the day of the match (today),” said a visibly delighted, yet tired Anup Kumar.
“Each of our players are world class”
When asked about the form of Puneri Paltan star raider Nitin Tomar, the 32-year-old from Palra, Haryana heaped praise on the youngster while talking about the massive pool of talent at his disposal at the World Cup.
“Nitin played really well and I am very happy with his performance today. I am sure Coach Sir will be too. He is a quality player and he showed his skills in the semis,” Anup expressed his satisfaction at his teammate’s performance.
He, however, didn’t stop at Nitin and emphasized that all the players in his team are extremely talented.
“Our entire team is littered with amazing players, who are 100% committed to the cause and give their best. Sometimes, it may happen that a player does not have a good day in a match, but I want to reassure that all the players who are part of the squad are world class players,” asserted the Arjuna Awardee.
“I want to win many more medals for India”
In the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, Anup, who is in the later stages of his playing career, has been seen executing a new move – the ankle hold. A raider, primarily, Anup executed 2 ankle holds against Thailand and has been seen attempting the same throughout the tournament. The U Mumba captain revealed that he has been practising this move for quite some time now and we are likely to see it more and more.
“I used to do the ankle holds before as well, but at the World Cup, it has come to the fore. I keep on trying it as many times as I can and against Thailand, I did it twice,” revealed the captain.
Lastly, Captain Cool, as Anup Kumar is rightly called, revealed that he is not retiring at the World Cup. These words would come as a morale booster for the team and the fans right before the final.
“I want to clarify that I am not retiring after the World Cup. I have plenty of kabaddi left in me and I want to win a lot more medals for the country before I hang up my boots,” Anup put the rumours of him retiring to bed, once and for all.
The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup final will be played between India and Iran at the Transstadia Indoor Arena in Ahmedabad from 8 PM.
