Narwal confident of Patna retaining title

By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Aug 7

HIS replies were short, quick and crisp, just like his raids. Pardeep Narwal, celebrated raider of the Patna Pirates, is a simple 20-year-old ‘man’ from Haryana, who is spearheading his franchisee in the Pro Kabaddi League with élan.
In a brief chat with ‘The Hitavada’ before embarking to Ahmedabad for their next round matches, Narwal said Patna’s win over Bengaluru Bulls was a pleasing one. They were confident of coming out victors against the ‘home’ team.
 “We were confident of winning. The team played well. I got the opportunity to convert my raids successfully and earn points for my team,” he said. For the record, Narwal collected 15 raid points in his team’s thumping 46-32 win over Bulls.
The 20-year-old raider has a strong body with brute power. When asked from where does he get the strength, Narwal replied, “it’s all about training. I practice twice daily under the guidance of my coach. It is hard training, daily, and that helps me in building my strength.”
What does he eat to build muscles and strength? The diet is as simple as the person himself. “I eat sabzi, roti, dal, milk and curd.”
Born and brought up in Haryana, Narwal’s liking for milk is obvious. The 2016 World Cup gold medal winner used to gulp down ‘gallons’ at home but it has come down to ‘litres’ on tours. 
“At home I drink a lot of milk. But the quantity reduces when I am on tour. Back home I get pure milk and here I have to drink those from packets. But I have to adjust,” he said sheepishly.
Patna Pirates, the two-time defending champions, have been unbeatable so far this season and Narwal felt they would continue to do so with such a strong line-up.
“We are performing well and are playing as a unit. Monu Goyat, Jaideep, Sachin Shingade, Vishal Mane are the some of the players who have the capability to turn the tables any moment.”
For Narwal, the most valuable player of Season 4, Gujarat Fortunegiants are the strongest in the 12-team competition.
 “All team are strong but I feel the strongest is the Ahmedabad team (Gujarat Fortunegiants). They have some good players and are good at attacking and also in defence. But I hope we would tackle them well,” he said.
On retaining the title, Narwal said, “So far we have won three out of three matches. Hope we continue in the same manner. If we continue our good work we will definitely retain the title,” he concluded.