Tamil Thalaivas begins training ahead of 2018 Pro Kabaddi League

Raider Jasvir Singh is someone who doesn’t shy away from being aggressive on the mat but, the new recruit displayed great warmth during our stay, distributing sweets to everyone at the venue with a grin on his face. All but three members (Ajay Thakur, Jae Min Lee and Chan Sik Park) of the Thalaivas squad are currently prepping for the upcoming PKL season at the Centre for Sports Science (CSS) at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College here.

Having shifted his allegiance from U Mumba, head coach Edachery Bhaskaran was upbeat about guiding his new team to the summit clash on January 5. “We are working on the fitness of the players and on specific movements (on the mat) as of now. During the next camp (in September), we will focus on match situations. We have set the target of reaching the final and luckily, our preparations as going as per plan,” said Bhaskaran during an exclusive chat with DT Next.

The Chennai-based franchise managed to snap up the duo of Manjeet Chhillar and Jasvir Singh during the PKL 6 Auction in May. Manjeet’s acquisition meant he will once again join forces with captain Ajay Thakur, with whom he shared the dressing room at Bengaluru Bulls and Puneri Paltan for a collective period of three years. Talking about his reunion with the India skipper, the World Cup winner remarked, “We played together in the first four editions of PKL. We are more like brothers and our relationship goes beyond the mat.”  

Despite playing under similar circumstances, Amit Hooda and Sukesh Hegde had contrasting campaigns last year. While the latter managed to bag a silver medal for the Gujarat Fortunegiants, the former could only take a wooden spoon as Thalaivas finished at the bottom of its zone. But, both are looking to count on the experience the side boasts of this time around. “In PKL 5, we had a lot of budding talents. But, I am very pleased with the team the (new) coach has picked for the upcoming season. Additions like Manjeet and Jasvir will only help us go far in the tournament,” stated Amit, who was one of the three players to be retained alongside C Arun and Ajay.

“When I was with the GFG, I was under a lot of pressure because the squad was filled with youngsters. But at TT, I feel I can play freely as our side has top-quality senior players in its ranks,” opined Sukesh, who hesitated a bit to speak in Tamil during our interaction. The Sachin Tendulkar co-owned side shares a close association with its fans, Tamil Veerans. Commenting on how he felt playing in a stadium which was packed to its rafters, Manjeet recalled, “Even during our away game (last year), we received excellent support from the fans. Ahead of it, Abhishek Bachchan told us ‘Give your best but remember that this is also my state and hence I am going to wear my Chennaiyin FC (ISL side) jersey’.” 

Even though fan favourite Pardeep Narwal turned the tide in Patna Pirates’ way during the PKL 5 final, Sukesh was moved by the affection the aficionados showed for him.

“I experienced a lot of love from the fans in my first-ever PKL final. There are lots of supporters for south Indian kabaddi particularly. I can’t wait for our journey to begin,” he said.  Jasvir felt team effort and constant backing from the fans will take the team through to the title clash. “The more they back us, the more confident we will feel. Be by our side and pray for us. We have got a well-balanced outfit. Hope we make it to the final,” he averred.