E-Paper
Lucky Sharma wants to hear the kabaddi buzz in Jammu & Kashmir
The armyman is the first player from the region to make it to the Pro Kabaddi League and wants more to follow in his footsteps
Lucky Sharma was too nervous to track this year’s Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auction. Understandable given he was about to break new ground for the sport in his state. When Sharma was told he was roped in by Jaipur Pink Panthers for his base price of ₹10 lakh, he didn’t quite know how to react. There was no precedent—he’d become the first player from Jammu & Kashmir to be part of the country’s premier league for kabaddi, a sport that has little history in that region.
“This is a big, big opportunity for me,” Sharma said. “I had watched PKL on TV—seen the stadiums, the lights, the crowd.”
He never thought he’d get there one day. Not when between watching games of cricket and kabaddi in his village of Pouni Chak—some 10km from Jammu—he somehow fell in love with the latter. Not when there were hurdles aplenty pursuing it in a state that did not have an indoor stadium for the sport till recently. Not when he joined the Army and was forced to give up kabaddi for a year.
“I never thought I’ll be able to take up kabaddi professionally. We come from a background where there’s not much awareness. I didn’t even know what level of competitions there are in the sport and what PKL was,” he said.
Sharma was in Class 6 when he was introduced to kabaddi on the grounds of the local club in his village. Like most kids and youth in J&K, cricket was where all the attention was but kabaddi caught the boy's eye. “Immediately I got interested and went to play for 2-3 days straight. The coach there worked really hard on me,” he said.
His father, a driver, never once stopped his son from doing what he loved, no matter the financial constraints at home. But as Sharma grew up, he realised he needed to contribute to the family (he has two sisters and a younger brother). He joined the Army in 2015, and in the year's training thereafter, kabaddi was the farthest in his mind.
“I thought I’ll never play kabaddi again. But after a couple of years, I participated in an inter-army competition and got selected in the army team,” he said.
Sharma, a defender, plays for Services in the nationals. He grappled with paucity of competitive exposure in the state. “We have a league, but it doesn’t happen often. How will the talent be recognised then from there?”
The challenges of taking up kabaddi in J&K don’t end at that.
“The biggest problem in our region is the lack of facilities—mats, indoor stadiums, gym. There’s one indoor stadium, but even that was built only recently. Until then, it was all about cricket.
“There’s no SAI (Sports Authority of India) hostel. If there was one, kids would focus more on sports, work harder and know about aspects like diet. Most of them come from a middle-class background and can’t afford a lot of things. The moment we get some sort of facilities there, more players will advance to this level.”
Now that Sharma has carved an unchartered path, he wants to go back down the road and make things easier for others to follow. “I wish to go for an even higher price in the next auction. I want to do something for the sport in my village—organise a proper tournament and buy equipment for the club’s gym,” he said.
Sharma is in no doubt his PKL breakthrough will provide kabaddi a fillip in J&K. “It will be a big boost. Everyone has been asking me when I will play. They’re excited to see me. My being on this platform will only motivate them more and make them feel 'if he can do it, so can I'.”
