U Mumba star Rinku Sharma channels 'inner Sanjay Dutt' to prove his worth as one of Pro Kabaddi's best defenders

The Pro Kabaddi League, across its rich history of nine seasons, has provided a massive platform for prodigious talents in India to make a mark and earn a big reputation.

One such youngster who has created quite a stir in the PKL with his defensive prowess is U Mumba's right corner defender Rinku Sharma, who already has over 100 tackle points to his name across just two seasons.

Hailing from Rindhana in Haryana, one of India's kabaddi hotbeds that has produced some of India's biggest sporting heroes such as Pardeep Narwal, Sandeep Narwal among others, it's no surprise that Rinku is at the top of his game inside just two seasons.

Signed by U Mumba for ₹32 lakh in the PKL 8 auction, Rinku impressed in his debut Pro Kabaddi season, finishing as the 6th best defender with 60 points from 22 matches - including a jaw-dropping solo tackle on Patna Pirates' Sachin Tanwar.

On the back of his sensational performance in PKL 8, U Mumba retained the talented right corner for Pro Kabaddi 2022, where he's continued on his merry run. In 15 matches, Rinku has 48 tackle points to his name and is one of the driving forces behind U Mumba's continued pursuit for a spot in the PKL 9 playoffs.

What's interesting, though, is that Rinku's shaped his style of play based on a role model who does not belong to the sports field, but is a Bollywood legend. A massive fan of Sanjay Dutt, the right corner draws inspiration from the actor's persona to tackle the best of raiders on the Pro Kabaddi mat.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Rinku Sharma spoke about how Dutt's style is reflected in Rinku's tackling, Pro Kabaddi improving his family's status, Fazel Atrachali treating him like a younger brother and more.

"Sanjay Dutt is my favourite actor, and I love his style. It is my dream to meet him and also my favourite actress Sapna Choudhary one day. His dialogue "Pachas Tola, Pachas Tola, kitna? Pachas Tola" and "Thok Dalega!" are my favourites and the confidence in his dialogues is something I love to follow."

"When a raider comes near me to raid, I know I have to tackle him and take him down the way Sanjay Dutt takes down people in movies. That's always the way I play on the mat."

While Rinku's made more than just a name for himself by putting up spectacular defensive performances in Pro Kabaddi, his foray into the sport is a story riddled with challenges.

The sport before the Pro Kabaddi League didn't promise much employment, especially for those who weren't a regular part of the Indian team or senior players in their state units.

For a youngster who wasn't inclined to study and looked to swap books for a game of kabaddi, the introduction of Pro Kabaddi in 2014 couldn't have come at a better time.

"My big brother Lokesh Sharma introduced me to the game when I was very young. I would see big players like Pardeep Narwal, Sandeep Narwal and Rajesh Narwal doing so well and getting jobs from the kabaddi so even I wanted to play it."

"My father and mother wanted me to study and my brother wanted me to play. I had to make a choice between the two. Luckily in 2014, when I was still in school, the Pro Kabaddi started and I saw how all the seniors got so much recognition and even jobs, so the decision to pick sport over education was easy after that for me."

He also sneakily added that missing classes to attend training and take part in domestic matches was a regular part of his childhood.

"Naturally, I had to bunk school quite a bit to play. I anyway wasn't really interested in studying, so instead I worked hard on making my skills better."

"I was hoping I won't go unsold in the PKL 8 auction" - Rinku Sharma

Rinku's introduction to kabaddi at the tender age of 10 or 11 meant that by the team he played his first U-16 nationals, the youngster had enough experience to stand a cut above the rest.

Interestingly, though, Rinku started off his career as an all-rounder and was a fairly decent raider, but shifted his full focus to defending at the U-17 nationals in 2017.

After a string of impressive performances in the junior nationals and subsequently the senior nationals, Rinku felt he was ready for the big stage - plying his trade in the Pro Kabaddi League.

The now 21-year-old narrated how a sense of nervousness coupled with an inner fear of him potentially going unsold hit him a few minutes before his name went under the hammer in the PKL 8 auction.

"During the PKL 8 auction, I had gone out of my village for a tournament and I was watching the auction on my phone. My heartbeat starting racing, I didn't want to be unsold. I was watching with some friends on my phone and once the first bid came in, I felt extremely good. Eventually U Mumba signed me for ₹32 lakhs and since then, life has changed a lot."

"When I look at my life now, I feel very proud because I can now tackle the seniors I played with and against in my junior years, it's a lot of fun."

."I have built a house for my family and bought a vehicle" - Rinku Sharma on how Pro Kabaddi has changed his financial status

Over the years, the Pro Kabaddi League has changed lives meteorically on a financial scale. Youngsters have seen a lot of money early in their careers, with players coming through the New Young Player (NYP) program also earning multiple lakhs per season.

Rinku, who hails from a simple family in Sonepat, shed some light on what the ₹32 lakh contract meant to him last season.

"My life changed massively. I come from a small, nice family but we didn't have a lot of money. With the money I got from PKL 8, I built a nice house for my family and also bought myself a vehicle, which was a dream of mine. Everything happened thanks to U Mumba and Pro Kabaddi."

Apart from the money radically changing his life, Rinku explained how his status and the recognition his family gets today is a major facelift from their pre-PKL situation in the Rindhana village.

"When people talk about my parents as Rinku's mother and father, I feel very emotional and get tears in my eyes that they also get recognition. I am here because of them and their sacrifices."

"My father works in Jindal in Gujarat and once someone who visited him told my dad that the latter's son wants to meet me. It made made me feel like I have achieved something in my life."

The right corner also emphasized how he was a bundle of nerves during his Pro Kabaddi debut, but the then-U Mumba captain, PKL legend Fazel Atrachali, helped Rinku settle down and showcase his talent.

"It was my first season and in the first 2-3 matches I was scared and confused because of so much light and sound that was on me. That's when Fazel Atrachali treated me like a younger brother. Because of his skills he put a lot of pressure on the raider and I had the free hand to tackle. He always told me that he will be there to support me for anything I do."

"I enjoy the challenge" - Rinku Sharma on U Mumba captaincy

Given Rinku's seamless transition to one of the team's defensive lynchpins, it was quite natural for U Mumba to hand the right corner captaincy duties with regular skipper Surinder Singh out due to injury mid-way through Pro Kabaddi 2022.

In 6 matches since his first appointment as U Mumba captain against Puneri Paltan, Rinku has averaged 3.5 tackle points per match - underlining how the new responsibility has elevated his performance on the mat.

"This is a big opportunity for me, I don't feel the pressure of captaincy at all. In fact, I feel being the captain means I have to prove myself and my game improves. I love the new responsibility and I hope I can live upto expectations."

Apart from putting his best foot as U Mumba captain until Surinder returns on the mat, Rinku is clear about what he wants to achieve on a personal level in the remainder of PKL 9.

"Winning the trophy is primary. But for my personal target, recently Shadlou (Mohammadreza Chiyaneh) broke the record for most tackle points in a match when he got 16 points. I want to smash that record!"

With the ongoing Pro Kabaddi 2022 season heading towards its business end and the hustle for the six playoff spots getting a lot tougher, there's no doubt that U Mumba will want Rinku to bring out everything he has in his armoury.

Be it his vicious ankle hold, supreme thigh hold or even a speedy dash, there's never a better time for Rinku to channel his inner Sanjay Dutt than now!