PKL | Pardeep Narwal gives up ghee and sweets to regain his lost mojo, targets 1600 points this season
UP Yoddha's Pardeep Narwal is undoubtedly the most successful raider in the history of PKL, with 1404 points, the most super 10s (70), and the most Super raids (67). But for the last two seasons, he has not been at his very best, and his scoring prowess seems to have taken a big hit.
But he wants to turn things around this season. And for the same, he has given up sweets, ghee, and milk. "Ghee-doodh ka toh khana hai hamara. Yahan mera ghee aur doodh band hai. [Our food consists of a lot of ghee and milk. I'm not allowed to have either during the season]," he told ESPN.
"But it's only for a matter of two months..." he quickly adds with a childish grin.Â
Last year, when PKL returned, Pardeep carried two kilos of ghee in the bio-bubble, but this year, to reinvent himself, he has to give up his staple. And coach Jasveer Singh has a big role to play in that. "This time the coach had a clear message to me, 'You need to lose weight. We'll look at your game later.' I used to weigh 84kgs and now I am at 80. He wants me to lose another kilo."
"I've honestly given up on sweets. It's helped me lose weight and improve my and the team's performances. I don't want to hamper that," he adds.
One man's loss is another man's gain. Now the team masseur Chetan gets to have Pardeep's share of sweets. "Chetan gets to eat more than me and he has sweets too! I ask him 'why do you do this to me?' He laughs and says he doesn't need to play on the mat but I do."
But it is a sacrifice to get his mojo back. He admits, "Practice maan lo ya fitness maan lo, kuch bhi maan lo...main acha nahi kar pa raha hun. Main toh fitness hi maanunga."
Also, the Dubki King is trying new raiding techniques, to be more effective. "I tried the Dubki in 2-3 games but it didn't work. The coach is helping me learn new skills like turning defenders inside out and that's working for me."