Explaining defensive positions in Kabaddi and their significance

Pro Kabaddi League is a game based on an intricate transition between attack and defense. Teams place great emphasis on raiding the opposition consistently to ensure the pressure is piled on them.

Similarly, defenses work to keep raiders from easily working up points, working in harmony to not allow the raiders to guess position easily.

Just like focus and positioning is important to the defense protecting the team, Castrol Activ’s actibonds ensure the protection offered to the engine is complete, clinging on to form a blanket that protects the engine at all times.

Here’s a closer look at how the defensive positions in Kabaddi work -

Corners

The ‘corners’ of the team are the widest positions on the playing mat, stretching the team on both the sides. Each team deploys their best defenders on the ‘corners’ as it is the most influential position; a game can be won or lost depending on how the corners of the team perform on that given day!

The main responsibility of the corners is to initiate the tackles at the right moment as they are the main targets for the opposition’s raiders to score points from. If it is a right raider raiding from the opposite end, he/she will attack the left corner and vice versa in case the raider is raiding from the left side.

In the case of a right raider, the left corner of the team goes deep into his half, behind the bonus point line to make the raider come to him in order to get a touch point while at the same time, the main responsibility of the right corner is to cover the raider’s track in case a block has to be made before he returns to his own half.

Some of the biggest defenders in Pro Kabaddi League have cemented their place at the corners and are able to dictate the flow of the game. Ravinder Pahal excelled playing at the ‘corner’ position for Dabang Delhi in season 2 of the Pro Kabaddi League and was thus awarded ‘the best defender’ of season 2.

Main Moves: Ankle-hold, Thigh hold, dash

Notable Players: Ravinder Pahal, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Joginder Narwal, Fazel Atrachali, Nilesh Shinde

Covers

The ‘covers’ of the team usually take up the positions inside of the ‘corners’ and ‘ins’ on both the sides of the mat and act as a support system to the chain comprised of the former (corner and in).

However, their primary responsibility is to save their star raiders, who take up the safest position on the mat i.e ‘center’, from getting touched out by the opposition raiders.

Some of the teams even use their ‘cover’ defenders to take up raids in order to give some much-needed rest to their star raiders or to save them for do-or-die raids. Telugu Titans’ Sandeep Narwal can be a prime example of a cover who raids a lot in the match for the same purpose.

Main Moves: Double knee hold, waist hold

Notable Players: Sandeep Narwal, Manjeet Chhillar, Vishal Mane, Bajirao Hogade

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Ins

The ‘ins’ of the team usually comprise of the raiders, who form a chain with the ‘corners’ and help them maintain their balance on the mat. With the chain formed, they help the corners contain the opponent’s raiders, and also try to block the raiders in their tracks.

It also forces the raider to go for the much more difficult moves such as the dubki or a jump in order to score touch points.

Main Moves: Chain support

Notable Players: Jang Kun Lee, Rajesh Mondal, Anup Kumar

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