The Kabaddi lakhpatis who’ve raided poverty

A welder, a farmer and a sugarcane factory worker are today’s kabaddi superstars.

A group of men circle in on a tall, muscular player who dodges them to leap into his side of the court. To earn points in kabaddi, defenders and raiders (equivalents of forwards in football or hockey) don’t just rely on agility and strength alone: they also draw on the lessons that life has taught them.

Considered as one of the most formidable raiders in the Pro Kabaddi League, Kashiling Adake (in red and blue) once worked in a sugarcane factory and survived on one meal a day(AFP)

Deepak Nivas Hooda, 21, born in a village in Haryana that was a hotbed of the recent anti-reservation agitation, lost both his parents before he reached teenage (Ravi Choudhary/Hindustan Times)

(Ravi Choudhary/Hindustan Times)