Amit Hooda keen to lift a young Tamil Nadu team to PKL title

“It is a young team, yes. But with the guidance of our coach K. Baskaran, we will do well,” the 21-year-old defender says, looking ahead to the upcoming season.

Amit Hooda is a “huge asset” to the Tamil Nadu team, according to coach K. Baskaran.

 

In a largely young Tamil Nadu squad for the fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi league, it is left to Amit Hooda, one of the few experienced players, to shoulder the burden.

The 21-year-old defender, the highest paid player of the team at Rs. 63 lakh, felt the lack of experience will not come in the way of the team doing well. “It is a young team, yes. But with the guidance of our coach K. Baskaran, we will do well. We want to win the title,” Amit said.

Having played in three previous editions of the league, Amit will have the added responsibility to get the team together, motivate the youngsters, which requires him to share his experiences more often than not.

The Haryana lad will be under extra pressure to prove his worth. “As I have said, with Baskaran sir by our side, we can achieve our target. We are together in the journey,” he said.

‘Heart’

By his own admission, Amit got more chances to show his mettle only in the last season after coming in as substitute in earlier ones. Not the one to miss a good opening, he performed exceptionally well to finish second in the best defenders list. And he still remembers the semifinal match between Jaipur Pink Panthers (the team he played for) and Telugu Titans last year, in which he was adjudged the best defender. “It was a do-or-die match. If we lose, we would be playing for the third place playoff. We played with a lot of heart to win [that match],” he said.

Amit said a defender should be strong, determined, confident and should possess the ability to look into the eye of the raider and attack, holding his team together. “More than that, a defender should be good in ankle hold’, ‘thigh hold’, ‘back hold’, techniques that are very important,” said the 21-year-old from Rohtak.

The Tamil Nadu coach K. Baskaran, who has seen Amit for a while, said the defender is very good at ankle catch and dives, and in ‘following the chain’. “I first saw him as a substitute in the second season. He is a huge asset, and in a longer league which has 21 [league] matches, his experience and quality will come in handy,” said the former India captain and all-rounder. “Picking him gave me special satisfaction.”