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Dabang Delhi KC coach Rambir Singh Khokhar is confident that his young team will emerge as the champions of Pro Kabaddi 2023. Khokhar made a bold prediction for the team's new defender Yogesh, saying that he would be among the top three defenders of the tournament.
Yogesh is a right corner defender, who has been quite impressive at the junior level. He will play his first PKL season for Dabang Delhi KC this year.
Apart from Yogesh, Dabang Delhi KC coach Rambir Singh Khokhar spoke about the team's other youngsters and their preparation for PKL 10 in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda. Here are the excerpts:
Excerpts from Rambir Singh Khokhar's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda:
Q. How has your team's preparations been for PKL 10?
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Rambir Singh Khokhar: We organized a camp in Delhi from October 15. We are ready for the competition. We are fully prepared, be it raiding or defense. The preparation has been really nice. Retained players, NYPs, and young players all are ready.
Q. What is your thought process behind appointing Naveen Kumar and Vishal Bhardwaj as captain and vice-captain? Naveen looked under pressure while captaining Delhi last season.
Rambir Singh Khokhar: I have newly joined Dabang Delhi, but I was watching their matches. Naveen is ready for captaincy as well as giving a good performance. As far as Bhardwaj is concerned, he plays left corner. The coordination will be good.
Naveen will not be under pressure this time. We have some really good raiders in the team this time. Naveen will be the main raider and the captain. Ashu is preparing well. His skill and technique are good. Manjeet and Meetu Sharma are talented youngsters.
We also have NYPs, namely Manu Deshwal, Rahul and all-rounder Akash. These young boys will surprise you just like Narender Kandola, and Ankush Rathee surprised you last season. Their performance will surprise fans.
Q. Combination is a key thing in defense. Delhi's defenders do not have the habit of playing as a unit. So will it impact the team?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: No, it's not like that. Except for Naveen, all players play in the same team in local tournaments. They practise together. Five players are practising at the same place, SAI. Manu Deshwal, Meetu Sharma, Ashish, Vikrant, Mohit, and Himmat Antil, these players practice together throughout the year.
We have also worked on forming a good combination of Vishal Bhardwaj and Yogesh for the corners.
Q. Vishal Bhardwaj plays quite aggressively. He is the senior defender of the team. Will you allow him to play his natural game or will he change his approach?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: See, we have Yogesh in the right corner, Himmat on the left cover, and Balasaheb and Mohit on the right cover. Left cover, we have options like Vikrant and Akash. Yogesh and Vishal will be corners. We also have Ashish and Vijay for the left corner, who are gold medalists at the junior level.
So, Vishal knows that there are two defenders ready to take his spot. In daily practice, he committed an advanced tackle. He has practised well to avoid those mistakes now. He is ready.
Q. What was the thought process behind spending big on raiders and not chasing big names among defenders at the PKL 2023 Auction?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: There weren't any experienced defenders in the auction. We took Sunil and Vishal among defenders, who have experience playing five-six seasons.
I think that the youngsters whom we have selected can do better than the experienced ones. They will get an idea of PKL after playing two or three matches. Their speed, strength, agility and flexibility are top-notch. They will prove themselves better than raiders.
We chose to invest more in raiders because I personally believe that raiders generally get more injured. So, we need to have alternatives, it's a big league, three months is a long time. Our physio will work with them. The physio is working really well to keep them injury-free.
Q. The main raiders of your team - Meetu, Naveen, Manjeet and Ashu, all are right raiders. So, will the absence of an experienced left raider hurt the team?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: No, I don't think so. There were a couple of experienced left raiders in the auction. But I think we have some talented NYPs, who are left raiders. It is a long tournament. We have a young squad, and these players have won many tournaments in Haryana.
Q. Players like Anup Kumar and Ajay Thakur dominated PKL even after they passed their prime, but these days, there are better facilities, still some senior players' performance has declined. Any reasons you think?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: Fitness is there, you are right, but what matters is performance. How you carry the team is an important factor. The players were disciplined. Ajay and Anup have worked with me at SAI. I saw their discipline. They were 100 percent honest to the sport, and whatever they said, they would do. Sometimes, they would do extra as well.
Ajay Thakur was performing quite well even after the age of 30. Anup Kumar also gave a really good performance. The biggest weakness of today's players is if they play in big tournaments, they don't get rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is very important. Money is more now, so they keep playing more and more tournaments. I believe that might be the reason why.
Q. All teams have a strong squad. If you have to pick 1 team that can threaten Dabang Delhi, which team would it be?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: All 12 teams are solid. I don't see any team lightly, but I feel, our team will challenge everyone, and we will play the final.
Q. Everyone is obedient during training. What do the players and coaches do to relax after training?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: Our team is so disciplined that we don't have to tell anything to anyone. They enjoy and have a good time together at hotels and lounges. We also play recreational games.
Q. Which youngster of Dabang Delhi KC will set the PKL 10 on fire?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: Dabang Delhi KC has many such players. For example, right corner Yogesh can set the tournament on fire. Manu, Rahul, Mohit, Himmat Antil, and Ashish are all exciting talents. I feel Yogesh can do really well. He will be among the best three defenders of PKL 10.
Q. Delhi signed two cover defenders from England. What was the strategy behind it?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: They are our backup players. They play in Europe. When we need them, we will use their services. They have been working hard. They are disciplined. The reason why we signed two from the same country is that they have the same culture and can be good roommates.
Q. You are returning to PKL after a long time. How excited are you?
Rambir Singh Khokhar: No major excitement as such. I entered the kabaddi world in 1973. So, it's been 50 years. I have been coaching for 40-42 years. I have worked as a coach at SAI. There is no pressure or excitement. Our preparation is so good that we will lift the trophy and become champions.
