Asian Games will be challenging, need to work on our defence: Indian Kabaddi captain Pawan Sehrawat

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Under the leadership of young and dynamic raider Pawan Sehrawat, the Indian national kabaddi team emerged winners at the Asian Kabaddi Championships.

Sehrawat - who is a household name in the country due to his exploits on the mat in the home-grown Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) - led the young team from the front to prove India's domination in the sport.

Returning triumphant after lifting the continental championship, Sehrawat interacted with media virtually and threw light on his team's performance, his recovery from the injury he sustained during the PKL 2022, expectations from this year's league and preparations for the Asian Games in Hanghzou, China.

The Asian Kabaddi Championships, which was held at the Dong-Eui Institute of Technology Seokdang Cultural Center in Busan, Republic of Korea saw the Kabaddi star return to action for the first time since the ACL injury he sustained in the PKL 2022.

Sehrawat - who is being sponsored by the JSW Sports - said he shared his experience with the young members of the squad to help the team exploit opponent's weakness.

"I was making sure I was giving clear instructions to the new players part of the squad, especially the new raiders like Aslam Inamdar and Arjun Deshwal. As a captain, I always look to exploit the opponent's weaknesses to clinch the victory. So, for every player we had devised distinct game plans to help them optimise and maximise their effectiveness in the game," Sehrawat said during the virtual interaction.

Sehrawat - who has emerged as one of the most exciting kabaddi players in the country lately - returned to action after an eight-month injury lay-off. However, the 'Hi-Flyer' showed no signs of rustiness and even picked up a super-ten in the all-important final against traditional rivals Iran.

Speaking about his strong comeback, Sehrawat thanked his coaches for keeping him motivated during his rehab, and said, "My objective was to return from the injury stronger than ever. All my coaches were very supportive and formulated a training plan for me that helped improve my performance and technique while making sure I do not overexert and injure myself.

"I did my rehab with JSW Sports at the Inspire Institute of Sport, and the trainer there helped me identify my weak points and guided me to work on improving them which allowed me to put in dominant performances at the Championships on my return. I also made sure that I surrounded myself with positive people during my rehab at JSW which I believe helped me heal faster," Sehrawat added further.

In the high-octane final - which India won 42-32 - Sehrawat picked up a super ten and spoke about his personal experience of the final and how he approached it. "I do not let any pressure faze me, I made sure I was laser-focused on the game. Whether it's a national tournament or an international tournament, I always have a clear game plan for me to execute. I improvise and adapt my game plan according to the coach's directives which helps me push myself and help my teammates whenever it's needed during the match."

"I will always look to lead from the front and I have an aggressive approach to each game. I have a very strong fighting spirit so I will make sure I stand up for my teammates and myself no matter the situation," Sehrawat added.

The 25-year-old PKL star went on to talk about how eagerly he is waiting for the new season of the competition. "I was not able to utilise all my energy for season 9 of PKL due to injury. So I am very excited about season 10 because I have a lot of pent-up energy that I cannot wait to unleash on the mat. So, now I am eagerly waiting for the season to start so that I can showcase how much I have improved as a player."

Sehrawat concluded by talking about the upcoming Asian Games that will be held in Hangzhou later in September. "I still believe we have to work a lot on improving our defence as a team because I was not completely satisfied with some of our performances at the Asian Championships.

"The Asian Games are going to be more challenging so we need to refocus and put in maximum effort during the upcoming camp so that we can dominate our opponents at the competition. Nonetheless, we will make sure we devise a game plan for each team at the tournament, we will approach each game after a lot of preparation and complete concentration," he concluded.