He has won an Asian Games gold medal in South Korea, lifted the World Cup in Gujarat and been conferred the Arjuna Award from the President of India, yet Manjeet Chhillar believes he still benefits tremendously from watching youngsters play on the mat.
“There’s no human on this planet who has learnt everything. We learn till the end of our lives, in any profession. If there’s a new kid on the mat, I watch him keenly and learn his game to see the new techniques that he’s brought into the game. There’s a lot of time left, I will keep learning,” he said.
The people of Nizampur were proud to be Puneri Paltan fans and it was solely because Chhillar was part of the team and leading it. This time around, though, the all-rounder will ply his trade for the Pink Panthers after the Jaipur-based outfit picked him up for Rs 75.50 lakh at the auction.
But Manjeet refused to rule out any opposition as easy pickings, despite the wide array of experience and talent at his team’s disposal.
“We have a good mix of experience and youth plus we have a superb coach in Balwan Sir. Our camp will begin from the 23rd in Jaipur, everything will be decided there.”
“Look all the 11 teams are good. My main target is to reach the final and for that, it’s necessary that we win every single match that we play,” he added.
Having led his previous team ably, Manjeet realises the importance of having leaders on the mat. A handful of teams this season have players who will in all probability lead their side for the very first time. Chhillar reckons the Panthers, who have three possible captains in him, Jasvir and Navneet, will surely have an advantage over the others.
“Yes, that’s true. If the captain of the team gets tackled, you always need a second player to control the team. We have those players in our team and we will definitely benefit from this. For example, Rakesh Kumar has gone to Telugu, he’s a senior player and can control the team. It’s important to have people who can lead the side,” he explained.
Further throwing light on the role of a captain in kabaddi, Manjeet has some firm opinions on the kind of player who should ideally lead the team on the mat.
“I believe that a captain should always be an allrounder, more so a defender. Because defenders are the ones who spend the most time on the mat. If the defence crumbles, the whole team is out. The main role of a captain to decide who to send to raid, depending on the 2nd raid or 3rd raid,” he explained.
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi recently lauded the growth of kabaddi worldwide and Manjeet revealed that he was always confident that the sport would blow up if given a chance.
“Modi Ji is right because India is home to various sports that are still not famous. Once you begin to watch kabaddi, you’ll never feel like stopping. We were always confident that if kabaddi gets the opportunity, the sport will shine.”
It’s no secret that the experienced all-rounder is one of Salman Khan’s biggest fans. The actor’s movie, Tubelight is set to release late this month and Manjeet is eager to watch it, come what may.
“I will definitely go and watch the movie, I’ve seen the trailer as well. There’s not one movie of Salman Khan that I haven’t watched, so I will surely go and watch it,” he signed off.
