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Dream big--Kabaddi player Aslam Inamdar's motto for himself, his village youth
The 23-year-old Maharashtra player in the Pro Kabaddi League has risen in the game and also helped his family shake off poverty
Much has changed in the life of Aslam Inamdar since making a mark for Puneri Paltan in his debut Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season last year. For one, a tottering, leaking mud house has been replaced by a pucca, polished one in his village of Taklibhan in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. His mother, who helped make ends meet for the family by working as a domestic help, no longer has to wash others’ utensils.
“Ekdum professional waali life jee raha hu abhi (I’m living the life of a proper sports professional now),” he says.
There’s a bigger dream to pursue for the 23-year-old. Inamdar wants every budding kabaddi player in his village to have a shot at such a life. And he has set out to show them the path that led him to becoming the cynosure of all eyes in the village on his game nights. “After watching me on TV, villagers are sending their kids to practice giving my example,” Inamdar says.
It started with a little club in his village run by a few former players, which now has about 70-80 kids playing the sport. Between the previous edition and the ongoing one, Inamdar had dropped in at the club several times while also spending time practicing with the kids.
He also lends words of advice, warning them against being lured into the easy but endless loop of playing local level prize money events. “I had also played them, and they would offer ₹11,000, 21,000, etc, to the winners. Too much of that and your body can break down early. You can play them, but not to the extent that it becomes the end of your road. Your hard work and game should lead to something bigger,” he says.
Like it did for Inamdar, who made a conscious decision to pull out of that world. After he played his first sub-junior nationals for Maharashtra, the then state captain asked him to move to a more prominent club in Vasind town, in Thane district. Till date, Inamdar turns up for Jai Bajrang, a club which also opened up avenues for stints with Union Bank and Air India. “My life changed after that. I started playing good level tournaments, and that’s where people spotted me,” he says.
The bigger challenge brought with it stiffer struggles. Four years ago, for training with Air India, Inamdar would travel daily from Vasind to Kurla, a 2-3 hour one-way commute by train. “I was lucky if I got a fast train. And if I got one that wasn't jam-packed,” he laughs. “Long train ride, practice, long train ride—this was my routine for a year-and-a-half.”
Until he was roped in by Puneri Paltan for the eighth PKL season, in which he earned 189 points for his team across 23 matches last year. Such was his impact for the franchise that he was named captain for his team’s opening match of this season on Saturday.
His mother doesn’t have to work anymore while his younger brother hopes to follow in the footsteps of Inamdar. The money earned so far has been enough to build a three-room home for the family, one where they don’t have to constantly look at the roof and fret about the leaks during monsoon. “Apni life abhi alag ho gayi hai (our life has changed now),” Inamdar says.
The next major step he wants to take is to earn a call-up for the national team. “My dream now is to play for India and win a medal for the country,” he says.
