How a kid rescued Indian kabaddi and Patna Pirates captain Rakesh Kumar

Rakesh Kumar

Cricket and its practitioners have ruled the roost when it comes to the glamour quotient of sportsmen in India, leading to the cliché of players of other sports quietly walking out of airports and going unnoticed as they board a cab back home holding many a championships aloft. India has been a world beater in kabaddi for years now, but the sport has struggled to grab the limelight it warrants. The faces of many kabaddi greats over the years have been merely lost among many millions which inhabit this vast country.

But, the advent of the franchise based leagues has signaled a change in the air and sports apart from cricket are slowly getting the fair share of attention they deserve. The Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League has provided us with a prime example of newly crafted leagues, which have transformed the dynamics of the sport and its players.

In India, over 22 million viewers tuned in during the first day of the League in its first season, which is ten times greater than the viewership on the first day of the FIFA World Cup in 2014. Kabaddi became an instant hit and captured the imaginations of the new generation in the country.

If you feel mere statistics don’t tell the whole story, this incident with the Indian National team and the Patna Pirates skipper Rakesh Kumar will give you a brief of how big the sport Kabaddi has become since the launch of the tournament.

Speaking at an event organised by Patna Pirates’ pain-relief partners, Volini, Rakesh Kumar recalled this amazing incident which drew him out of a tight situation in South Africa.

Rakesh recalled, “I had gone to Cape Town (South Africa) for the shoot of Khatron Ke Khiladi (an Indian television reality show) and while returning, I missed my flight back home.”

Rakesh overcame the language barrier with the help of the Indian family

Being born in a small village outside Delhi, Rakesh Kumar had his problems with the English language and that meant he failed to grasp an announcement notifying a change in the flight boarding process.

“My English is weak and I missed the announcement which notified the change of entry gates for boarding my flight which meant I missed my flight. With no one to call for help, I became extremely stressed and had no clue as to what was to be done to get back, so I went to the counter to enquire. Unfortunately, neither of us could understand each other and the operator on the counter couldn’t understand my troubles”, revealed the Indian captain.

A worried Rakesh Kumar was struggling to find ways to get his message across and didn’t know when and how he would manage to get back home, until he approached an Indian family around for help.

“I did not know what to do and got extremely worried. Then I saw an Indian family and approached them for help. The family had a fairly young couple and a 7-8 year old kid. And to my wonders, as I began explaining him my problem, the young kid recognized me and shouted my name in excitement. The parents of the child then recognised me and helped me get another flight and get back home”, said the Patna Pirates captain.

“Pro Kabaddi will change the face of Indian kabaddi forever”

Rakesh Kumar in action against U Mumba during Pro Kabaddi

Rakesh later went on to share that the young kid was a hardcore kabaddi fan and had been following every single game of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi. The child was simply amazed to see his hero in reality and aspires of becoming a kabaddi player in his life.

“The kid’s parents said that their son was a massive kabaddi fan and that he never missed a single kabaddi game on television. I could see the joy on the kid’s face and it made me happy. I learnt that he wanted to become a kabaddi player and there is nothing more satisfying than that. Not only the young kid helped me get home, he has also motivated me to do well for him every time I take to the field now”, the strongly-built raider exclaimed.

Rakesh Kumar feels that Star Sports Pro Kabaddi has changed the life of the kabaddi players for good and they are now recognised for their efforts.

“Earlier nobody recognized us when we walked out on streets, but now people know and ask for autographs and click selfies with us. It gives us great joy and satisfaction. I feel it is all down to the great platform that Star Sports Kabaddi League has provided us with and I’m sure it is going to change the face of Indian kabaddi forever,” the Arjuna awardee concluded.