It is more difficult to be a coach than to play Kabaddi – Anup Kumar

Anup Kumar, the coach of the Puneri Paltan in the Pro Kabaddi League, says it is more difficult to be a kabaddi coach than to play kabaddi. Anup was speaking at the Instagram live session ‘Beyond The Mat’ hosted from the Instagram handle of Pro Kabaddi League.

While answering to a question by a fan about, “What exactly is the difference between being a player and being a coach?” Anup said,

“It’s harder to sit off the mat as a coach than to play on the mat as a player. A player plays on the mat as he wants to. The coach has to look at the players, the team, the outcome of the match, the score. He has to understand the nature of each player on the team. A coach also has responsibilities such as bringing the team together as a family.”

“As a player, I played well for my team, for my country. Now as a coach, I want to make a mark so that people will say, ‘Anup is not only a good player but also a good coach.’ I learned a lot in my first season as a coach. I have a lot more to learn and to do from here on. ”

Under Anup’s guidance, the Puneri Paltan managed to win only 7 out of 22 matches and drew 3 matches. Due to the lack of consistency in the team’s performance, the Paltan remained at 10th position in the table. Of course, this is Anup’s first year and he still has time to prove himself as a coach.