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Indian kabaddi team captain Rakesh Kumar feels that the second edition of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will provide a new set of talented players to the national team, which is facing a huge challenge from the countries like Iran, Pakistan and South Korea, to keep its status as the undisputed kings of the sport intact.

"The first edition of PKL provided us players like Manjit Chillar and Surinder Nada and helped widen the pool of brilliant players. We expect the same from the second edition," said Kumar. "Not only talented players, PKL has raised the overall standard of the sport which helped us greatly in winning the gold at the Asian Games in Incheon last October," he added.

India was trailing after the first half in the title clash against Iran, but managed to win by a slender 2 point margin. "It happened because we were match fit and more agile and had learned to handle pressure well in the first edition of the PKL which was held just two months before the Asian Games," Kumar said.

"Though we have better skills, players from Iran are far more fit and have a greater level of endurance. I think we can learn a lot from them as to how they keep fit and manage their endurance levels and in turn they can learn a few tricks from us," Kumar said.

By Premji