You are the best raider in the world', said coach to Ajay Thakur before Kabaddi WC

Ahmedabad: Halfway through the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup final, India were struggling miserably, trailing Iran by six points. However, ace raider Ajay Thakur stepped up to the plate and delivered the goods, scoring 14 raid points, to turn the match on its head, at the Transstadia in Ahmedabad, on Saturday.

Three consecutive raid points by Ajay at this point, not only got India into the lead, but also gave the hosts the much-needed momentum in the game.

However, when asked about his crucial role during the match, Thakur himself remained as humble as ever.

“See, my performance (in the second half) was not alone in turning the tide for us,” said Ajay.

He also went on to suggest that it was the Indian defence’s solid display that actually allowed him to go forth and score the raid points at that crucial stage.

Thakur said, “My raids would have been useless, if our defence did not hold through at that stage. So I think that the whole team played brilliantly at a crucial stage in the game, and won us the match.”

Ajay had a good spell in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, especially considering the fact that he had only recently come back from an injury. However the 30-year-old said that the confidence was imparted to him by coach Balwan Singh and assistant K Baskaran.

“The coach motivated me a lot, ahead of the tournament. He made me practice a lot during the camps,” said Ajay. “He even told me before the tournament, ‘there is no (raider) better than you, you can do this’.”