Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Top 5 ankle-hold specialists
The job of a defender in kabaddi does not hold any kind of prestige, they are most often associated with showcasing brute strength to pin down the otherwise swift raiders and hence it is often a not-so appreciated task.
However, for the defenders on the mat, to execute those skills, it requires a lot of effort. One that can actually power his team across the victory line, and in that context, it may be noticed that the talented players often go about doing their job quite thanklessly, not receiving the kind of appreciation garnered by the raiders.
Nonetheless, in this article, we focus on one of the most talked about defensive moves, the ankle hold. The ankle hold is usually initiated by the corner defenders on the mat and can be one where they inflict a single ankle-hold or double ankle-hold depending upon their reach and timing.
Essentially a form of a solo tackle, this kind of a hold requires pure strength from the defenders for it is about executing force against the momentum of the raider.
#1: Surender Nada (Haryana Steelers)
Currently, on top of the points tally for the most amount of tackle points, 36 to be precise, Surender Nada can very easily be adjudged as the ankle-hold specialist in the kabaddi circles with a success rate higher than all the others in his league. Playing in the left corner position, he waits for the approaching raiders to stretch their leg past the black line in order to claim the bonus point or grab a toe touch and then strikes at the opportune moment.
Once within the grip of his ankle hold, it is almost impossible for the raider to escape, given the kind of brute force that Nada enforces. Such is his prowess, that he is able to bring down one of the most experienced campaigners, Anup Kumar, a toe-touch specialist with his hold, as was evident in the match against U Mumba when he was pitted against his former skipper.