I am happy to be associated with this team as there won’t be any pressure on me," he said, while closely monitoring his team’s regular warm-up drills.The villagers became obsessed with the sport once the four founders bagged jobs in the railways. He is also one of the players (the other being Anoop Kumar) to have been conferred the Arjuna award.8 lakh from the Patna Pirates franchise in the inaugural edition, Rakesh will now turn out for the Ronnie Screwvala-owned UMumba — the Mumbai-based franchise. People switch on their television sets and watch the entire game. Players also have started to increase.Rakesh will share space with defending champions UMumba in the upcoming season. We used to carry water in plastic bags from a nearby lake and water it," he said. (There are) big stadiums, but few coaches are available," he pointed out. Players are shooting for channels and interviews are being conducted. How will they match up to the demands of the sport "Children from cities don’t have facilities like the villages.On days when he takes a break from creating ripples down the feet of the opposition, with his signature ‘Lion Jump’ move, Rakesh wears a ticket collector’s uniform, working for the Indian Railways."It’s already competing with cricket.

Though cricket could have fetched Rakesh more lucrative jobs, he stuck to his passion. But when I started playing kabaddi, that sport was nothing," said Rakesh, who participated in village tournaments for prize money worth `2,000-5,000. They established the sport in the village and inspired me," he added. "There was no craze when they started, but as soon as they got a job, things changed," he asserted. We support other kabaddi players because we do not want anyone to back out due to lack of sustenance. plastic spoon Suppliers "I don’t come from a well-to-do background. "I didn’t think so much about any other sport, cricket is obviously a top game."The mud ground where I used to practise had no proper facilities. Isn’t kabaddi a self-sufficient sport "Definitely, it supports me. But the railways also support me. "At times, the winner would just get a spoon or a bowl," he recalled. As the son of a farmer, his early years weren’t easy. Owing to the success of the inaugural seasons, the organisers decided to make the event bi-annual. "When I started off, there were four senior players, Ramesh Kumar, Kishan Kumar, Sanjay and Virender, who are now working for Indian Railways. There were no groundsmen either. "The team is strong with its offence and defence. "When I started, there was only one ground in my village, now there are six grounds and pipes to water the grounds. Even the younger generation are interested to play," said Rakesh, adding: "When we won the Asian Games, we were not in the news but today, we have the backing of the media. At least 38 kabaddi players are working in the railways. With the kabaddi fever all set to grip the country in the third edition starting January 30, India national team captain Rakesh Kumar believes its popularity will soon overtake that of cricket.

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