How Kashiling Adake went from corner defender to raider

Kashiling Adake has been one of the most outstanding raiders in the history of VIVO Pro Kabaddi. In the 5 seasons he has played so far, he has scored 528 points and is on the verge of becoming the fifth player in the history of the league to amass 500 raid points. In season 5 alone he scored 122 points from the 20 matches he played as U Mumba’s primary raider.

But raiding wasn’t always Adake’s calling as he explained in an exclusive interview with Prokabaddi.com. “I used to play as a corner defender earlier and only practise raiding in my spare time,” revealed Adake, “However my coach from a club told me that owing to my height and long legs I can be a good raider as opposed to a cover or corner defender. That is when I actually shifted to raiding.”

Although he started playing kabaddi at a young age it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the 24-year-old from Sangli. “When I was a kid, I used to play kabaddi with the children of my locality but I had to give it up after my father passed away,” said Adake, “However, I never stopped practising. Then one day the coach of a club named Kranti Sena saw me practising and asked me to join the club. That is when I started playing again. “

From there, Adake’s talent shone through and he soon moved to Mumbai to play the sport. “While playing for Kranti Sena I moved to Mumbai and was soon selected in the Sports Authority of India (SAI). There I played for Mahindra for three years before moving to divisions,” he said.

Kabaddi may be his first love but Adake loves playing all kinds of sports and makes time to play volleyball and basketball whenever he can.

When asked about his most memorable moment of the season he was ready with his reply. “In the match against Bengaluru Bulls (Match 98) I returned after scoring 4 points in a raid and I saw Anup dada smile. That was a memorable moment for me because it is rare to see our Captain Cool show emotions during a game. It made me feel very proud,” concluded Adake.