"It was my father's dream that I play kabaddi. I did not deny him"- Manjeet Sharma talks about his PKL journey, match vs U Mumba and more
Dabang Delhi KC raider Manjeet Sharma's father was a kabaddi player. He quit the sport in 1995 after playing for a few years, but he wanted his son to become a professional kabaddi player.
29 years later, Manjeet is one of the main raiders of Pro Kabaddi League franchise Dabang Delhi KC. He won the championship with Delhi in season 8. So far, he has earned 115 points in his PKL career.
Speaking exclusively with Sportskeeda, Manjeet opened up on his kabaddi journey, the recent match against U Mumba, his friendship with captain Ashu Malik and much more. Here are the excerpts:
Excerpts from Manjeet Sharma's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda
Q. Tell us about your kabaddi journey.
Manjeet Sharma: My father used to play kabaddi. He was a good player, but he quit the sport. When I was young, my father would take me to the ground. I used to watch Joginder Narwal, who is our assistant coach, play. So, I started playing kabaddi. It was my father's dream that I play kabaddi. I did not deny him.
Q. Why did your father quit kabaddi?
Manjeet Sharma: My father quit kabaddi in 1995. Frankly speaking, even I never asked him why he stopped playing (smiles).
Q. What has been the biggest challenge for you in your kabaddi journey?
Manjeet Sharma: See the biggest challenge for any player is injury. If a player does not get injured, he can play for as long as he wants to play. I got injured recently, but I have recovered now.
Q. What measures have you taken to prevent injuries?
Manjeet Sharma: To prevent injuries, our physio Sourav sir has worked really hard. Currently, I do not have any injuries. My coaches have also tried to best to help me maintain my fitness.
Q. How has been the support from your family in your journey?
Manjeet Sharma: The entire family supports me.
Q. Who has been your idol in Pro Kabaddi?
Manjeet Sharma: Joginder Narwal is from my village only. He is like an elder brother. He is my coach now. Pardeep Narwal, Vijay Malik, Kuldeep Singh, Surjeet Narwal, our team's captain Naveen Kumar and many other players.
I watched them play. I dreamt of playing like them, and finally in season 8, I got a chance to play for Dabang Delhi KC. So, I achieved my dream.
Q. You have consistently received chances to play this season. How does it feel to have the coach's faith?
Manjeet Sharma: I am really happy, seeing the faith shown by the coaches. So I want to repay the faith shown by him. I want to give my 100%. I want to give all that I have because the coach has shown so much faith in me.
Q. The match against U Mumba was full of ups and downs. How was the team atmosphere like during that game?
Manjeet Sharma: See, there was pressure. They got the lead, then we got the lead. At half time, the team sat down and had a chat with the coach. Coach sir told us to play smart kabaddi. U Mumba players played aggressively in the second half, so coach sir told me not to go deep into their half.
I avoided going deep into their half and tempted the defenders. Whatever coach sir said, I followed that.
Q. You have played under both Naveen Kumar and Ashu Malik in PKL 10. Any major difference between their captaincy styles?
Manjeet Sharma: I don't think there's any major difference. Naveen Kumar is a senior player. Whatever the captain says, we do. And as players, we also give our input to captains.
Both captains are good. Naveen would talk with the team and guide us as per the situation. Ashu Malik is doing a great job as well.
Q. Has your friendship changed with Ashu Malik now that he is the team's captain?
Manjeet Sharma: No, there's nothing like that. Nothing will change our friendship. It's just that he has got a new role now.
Q. Rambir Singh Khokhar has joined Dabang Delhi KC as the head coach this year. Tell us about the biggest thing you have learned from him so far?
Manjeet Sharma: We are practicing well under his guidance. He shows a lot of faith in the players. Even in the camp, he showed much faith in our talent, and he continues to have that faith even now.
The best thing about him is that whichever player he backs, whether he is from starting seven or bench, that player performs well. Whoever goes in to play, he gives his 100%. That's why he has so much faith in us, plus of course, we have practiced so much under his guidance.
Q. Do you have any personal goals for PKL 10?
Manjeet: I don't have any goal for individual points. I want to perform well for my team. I want to win the PKL trophy for my team.
Q. Dabang Delhi KC hasn't lost too many matches this season, but do you have something like a revenge in your mind that you want to beat a team by a big margin after losing to them in the past?
Manjeet: No, there's nothing as such. Any team can win or lose depending on their performance on the day. You can't decide the margin. But yes, our target is to win our matches by good margins.
Q. Would you like to share a funny moment from the team's hotel which we have not seen?
Manjeet: It happened with Ashish recently. It was his birthday, and we hit his face on the cake (Laughs).