On Kabaddi Day, former India captains suggest roadmap for success

Raju Bhavsar and Pankaj Shirsat

The Maharashtra State Kabaddi Association (MSKA) will observe Kabaddi Day on Friday, the birth anniversary of late Shankarrao Salvi, a former India player and coach. Salvi, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 75, also served as president of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India. There will also be a felicitation function for players, umpires and administrators after MSKA's annual general meeting at Balewadi, Pune, today.

Maharashtra has traditionally been a powerhouse in kabaddi, but in the last few years, they have not been too successful. Maharashtra won their last men's senior national kabaddi title at Hyderabad in 2018. Former India captains Raju Bhavsar and Pankaj Shirsat believe MSKA should plan better if the state needs to regain its lost glory. "MSKA needs to have a more effective selection policy wherein talented youngsters are picked early and then groomed through training and developmental schemes to win laurels at the senior level. We should have at least four or five camps a year across age groups, right from sub-junior, junior to senior men and women," Bhavsar told mid-day on Thursday.

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Shirsat, who led the country to its second World Cup title in 2007, wants MSKA to amend one of its rules in the interest of players. "Players from Haryana, who are not picked for their state teams, are eligible to represent other states or professional teams like Railways or Services, at the nationals, but players from our state can't do that. We must change this rule so that a talented player from the state can play elsewhere. Conversely, if a good Railways player does not make their team, he/she should be eligible to play for Maharashtra. This will only strengthen our teams," said Shirsat.