PKL 2019 | Defender has to consider all possibilities before going for ankle hold, explains Nitesh Kumar

Ankle hold is one of the most important defensive moves on the kabaddi mat and the corners are the players who use this the most. Like all other defensive moves in kabaddi, the ankle hold also has a lot of aspects to it like skill, discipline, and patience. A defender has to be very careful before going for the holds and should be very sure of what he is exactly doing at that point of time. 

“We observe each raider during the match to see where he is making a mistake and what his natural movement is like. Then we ascertain which moment he will try and come deeper into the half in so that we can execute an Ankle Hold.”

“You always need to keep a sharp eye on the Corner, how he moves. A raider is generally most vulnerable to Ankle Holds while going for a Bonus. We work on distracting the Corner defender first before attempting a bonus point. This puts him off his timing while attempting the Ankle Hold,” explained Devadiga.