‘Bangladesh can pose big threat in Asian Games’

Telangana’s Srinivas coaching the Bangladesh kabaddi team for the continental event

Hyderabad: Telangana’s L Srinivas Reddy, who is coaching the Bangladesh team for the upcoming Asian Games in China, feels they can pose a serious threat to big teams like India, Iran and Pakistan in the upcoming continental showpiece event.

Having made coach of the Bangladesh’s senior men’s team after his success with the junior’s team at the Junior World Cup, the 43-year-old from Sangareddy is leaving no stone unturned in making the team a champions side.

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“Kabaddi is very big in Bangladesh. It is their national game. The support for the game from the government is huge. Even the players are very good. We just had a two-month camp. We had trained in Maharashtra and played games against a few clubs there. Now we are gearing up for the Asian Games,” said Srinivas from Dhaka.

Starting the coaching career at a young age, Srinivas made rapid strides. He started his first coaching stint with South Korea team for Asian Games 2014 where they won a bronze. He then worked with the Australian team for the World Cup that was held in Ahmedabad. Later, he worked for the Indian junior Indian team for the 2016 Asian Championship in Iran where they clinched gold. With his success with the junior Indian team, he was appointed as the senior women’s team coach for the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. The same year, he was also made the coach of the Indian senior men’s team which won gold in the Dubai Masters Cup in 2018.

Speaking about his coaching career, Srinivas said, “After being part of the probable Indian team for Asian Games 2010, I could not make it to the final team. So my coach Prasad Rao sir suggested that I focus on coaching. I first played kabaddi at the Ambedkar Stadium in Sangareddy under coach K Subba Rao. Then I represented Osmania University for three years and was trained by Jaganmohan sir. Once I joined ONGC in Gujarat, I was trained under E Prasad Rao sir. I owe my career to three of them,” he added.

Srinivas also worked with Haryana Steelers and Jaipur Pink Panthers for a couple of seasons in the Pro Kabaddi League. He now has been appointed as the head coach for Telugu Titans for the upcoming 10th season which will begin from December 2. “I started as an assistant coach with Telugu Titans. Now, I have been appointed as the head coach to the same franchise. I am delighted to work with my home team. Once the Asian Games are over, I will be working with the Titans.”

He also credited PKL for the game’s popularity in the country. “Thanks to PKL, now everyone has started recognizing us. We not only got recognition but also financial support. Players like Pavan Kumar Sharawat got Rs 2.26 cr for one season. That is huge money in kabaddi. It is also the second most viewed sport after cricket in the country. it all happened because of the PKL,” he concluded.