PKL | Bengal Warriors' Maninder SIngh opens up about his three-year sabbatical from tournament
When the Pro Kabaddi League debuted in 2014, a number of previously unknown kabaddi players instantly rose to fame. Maninder Singh, a powerful raider from Punjab, was one of them; He was the third-best raider from the inaugural season, with 130 points, but he was a forgotten name in the next three.
Despite the PKL moving toward greater glamour in the next several seasons, Maninder remained noticeably absent. The standout raider from 2014 did not appear for the next three seasons. In the fifth season, Maninder was selected by the Bengal Warriors, and upon his comeback, he placed among the top five raiders. In an interview with The Bridge, he opened up about his sabbatical.
Maninder was waging a lone struggle away from the spotlight because of an injury he had sustained during the first season while Jaipur Pink Panthers enjoyed the rewards of their first-season heroics in future years.
Maninder was at a career fork in the road and had two choices. One option was to return to the heat of the PKL after the requisite 14-month recuperation time. Building oneself sufficiently such that such a thing could never again occur in his career was the second alternative, which was much tougher but more beneficial in the long run.
"It was a bad injury. The recovery was to take a long time. The minimum estimated time was 14 months," Maninder recalled his moment of truth. "With PKL coming into the picture, I wanted to have a prolonged career. I gave the required time to my injury and that is why I missed the next three seasons," he said.
Maninder allowed himself three years to prepare himself for the challenges of the PKL after doctors advised him to have a lengthy rehabilitation time before he returned to the league. And he's made a return that can only be described as astronomical. Maninder has earned over 200 points every season since his three-season hiatus, and he is second only to Pardeep Narwal in all-time raid points.
Maninder is not only one of the best raiders in the industry, but he's also one of the most reliable. His 1201 points in 119 games for the PKL record is evidence of it. Speaking of his fitness guiding principle, Maninder remarked, "The diet is what I consider to be most crucial. a healthy, adequately balanced diet."
Maninder had to alter his outlook on fitness as one of his three-year adjustment requirements. For a modern kabaddi player, this would be a significant skill given that the game has moved from the mud to the mat. In a 10-minute interview conducted in 2022, seven years after he was forcibly removed from the mat, Maninder brought up food and exercise more than 20 times.
"Fitness is very important to me. It is not something we should do in the season. Lamba process hai, har din karna padta hai (it is a continuous process and you have to do it every day). I believe that if you are fit, you will perform the skills (you want to) on the mat," he said.
Maninder drinks lots of milk but steers clear of junk food and other things that may degrade his physique because of his wrestler's shape.
"Back home, I don't stop myself and have desi food. But during the season the diet changes. I focus on protein and eat chicken/mutton/fish consistently to keep myself fit and strong. Discipline is the key to such fitness and consistency. Lekin kabhi kabhi meetha kha leta hu (but I eat sweets at times)," Maninder flashed a sheepish smile.
There are several varieties of the national sport kabaddi on both sides of the border. Circle-style kabaddi is played in the villages and is incredibly well-liked on both sides of the border. It follows a different structure from what we see in PKL.
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