After lifting the Professional Kabaddi League (PKL) title with Dabang Delhi final season, Manjeet Chhillar knew age and accidents had caught up together with his physique and shortly known as time on his taking part in days. For 22 years, kabaddi is all of the all-rounder from Delhi knew, and though he’d seen a few of his friends enterprise into enterprise actions for his or her post-kabaddi profession, Chhillar needed to “persist with the game that’s in my blood”.
A yr on, Chhillar, who captained Bengaluru Bulls within the opening PKL season, nonetheless finds his presence within the league. The 2-time Asian Video games gold medallist was roped in by Telugu Titans as their assistant coach for this ninth season. Chhillar didn’t assume twice earlier than taking the teaching plunge.
“After the primary few seasons of PKL, I knew the second I depart the sport as a participant, I’ll get into teaching,” he stated.
The 2016 World Cup winner isn’t the one one managing a group together with his roots to the mat. Almost half of the groups on this PKL season are marshalled by coaches who’ve been former gamers within the league or the nationwide group. It consists of the likes of Okay Baskaran (Bengal Warriors), Manpreet Singh (Haryana Steelers), Ram Mehar Singh (Gujarat Titans), BC Ramesh (Puneri Paltan) and Sanjeev Kumar Baliyan (Jaipur Pink Panthers).
“It’s a welcome pattern,” Baskaran, who performed for India and went on to educate the nationwide aspect, stated. “We’ve got extra former PKL gamers and India internationals as coaches within the league now.”
Whereas somebody like Baskaran is a veteran coach having led the Pink Panthers to victory within the inaugural season, Manpreet had captained Patna Pirates to the 2016 PKL title earlier than hanging up his boots and switching to the teaching hat.
Chhillar stated the arrival and progress of PKL has offered gamers like him and Manpreet an extra avenue inside the sport after their skilled careers meet the tip street.
“It (PKL) has offered us with that platform. If a great stage participant will get into teaching, then kids will profit and the general performances of gamers and groups can even rise. If gamers like us don’t grow to be coaches, then who will?” Chhillar stated.
In contrast to Baskaran who has a training diploma from the Nationwide Institute of Sports activities, Chhillar has no formal teaching expertise; he does point out that he has been teaching children in his village and on the junior stage for years. Chhillar, although, doesn’t imagine {that a} one-year diploma stamp is a prerequisite for gamers of his caliber to grow to be coaches in his sport. “I’ve 22 years of match expertise. No diploma can match that,” he stated.
Other than the benefits of understanding the sport, a player-turned-coach routinely will get a lift in incomes the respect of his group, reckoned Baskaran. “Gamers are inclined to respect such coaches. They are going to belief that coach—that he has been an impressive participant and we are able to be taught lots below him by way of method and techniques,” he stated.
“We perceive a kabaddi participant,” Chhillar stated. “We will have a look at the physique of a participant and know that he wants relaxation, eating regimen, apply and many others. Coaches who haven’t performed the game will be unable to gauge such issues.”
That stated, the skilled Baskaran feels extra stress in his teaching days than he did throughout his taking part in days. “As a participant, I didn’t take plenty of pressure. As a coach, neend nahi aati (I’ve sleepless nights),” he laughed. “You continuously have to consider so many facets.”
For Chhillar, the “mazza (pleasure) and problem” of competing stays unmatched. However now that he has opened a brand new chapter in his kabaddi e book, he’s wanting to script a number of success tales in it too. “As a participant, I had set sure targets and achieved them,” he stated. “As a participant, I made my profession, and now as a coach I wish to make my profession too.”