PKL 2019 | Important to have strong grip to catch hold of raiders, explains Baldev Singh
Baldev Singh has stated that to get the back hold right and stop a raider, a defender needs to have a strong grip. The Bengal right corner defender has also revealed that the back hold is one of his favourite defensive moves and it has been quite effective in the league as well for him.
Baldev Singh is having a decent outing in the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League season with Bengal Warriors and he has been successful with his blocks against the opposition raiders which he claims to be his favourite move while in defence. The right corner defender also talked about the importance of having a strong grip while trying to restrict a raider from getting back to his own half.
“It’s one of my favourite moves. It has been quite handy in vivo Pro Kabaddi as you must have seen,” Baldev told prokabaddi.com.
“Majorly you have to work towards your timing and speed to get the tackle right. To catch hold of the raider, it’s also important to have a strong grip, without which the raider can slip away from your hands.”
Baldev, who has 50 tackle points from 17 games this season, uses weights with an aim of improving and strengthening his grip. He also mentioned that he is not that concerned about getting support from his teammates in the defence and tries to go for solo tackles as well at times during a game.
“My exercises involve the usage of weights to strengthen my grip for when I grab a hold of raiders. Regardless of whether support arrives in time or not, I train to catch the raider on my own. Hence, I don’t rely on my teammates and hold on to the opponent as much as I can, all by myself,” the right corner defender explained.
“I use this move mainly on raiders who are on my left. I keep observing their vision because you must have everything in place before going for it. If the raider is slow, then we can easily catch him. But sometimes the faster ones make us run a lot.”