Interview with Kashiling Adake: "Kabaddi gave me a way out of the usual village life"

It’s perplexing how the best of our talents are often rejected on the pretext of not being ‘impressive enough’ over some 10 minute hapazhardly arranged trial. Some time back a young Kabaddi player from Maharashtra was meted out the same fate during a training camp organized by Mahindra in Mumbai. “Tum me dam nahin hai, (You don’t have the strength) those were the precise words,” recollects Kashiling Adake. Now an Indian international, he has indeed come a long way.

In an exclusive tete-a-tete with Sportskeeda, the 5th highest scoring raider from the inaugural edition of the Pro Kabaddi League opened up about his journey and how the sport has changed his life beyond all proportions.

Here are the excerpts:

Q. Hi Kashi, tell us a little about how you got initiated in to the game.

I come from a sporting family. My father was a wrestler. However, I was a little reluctant to take up anything seriously. This till his death in 2013, I was suddenly bestowed with a lot of responsibility and kabaddi gave me a way out of the usual village life that I was following.

Q. How difficult was it then to take it up and pursue it professionally?

It was really tough, I initially joined a club in my village (Kasegaon in Sangli district of Maharashtra) and that is where I learnt the basics of the game. Later I went to Mumbai where after initially getting rejected by Mahindra, I managed to get a contract. Although the pay was paltry (5500 per month), it gave me hope that I can indeed carve a career out of the game.

Q. It must have been incredibly special then to be selected to represent the country then?

Definitely. Representing one’s country is every sportsperson’s dream and I was no different. I would say it was perhaps the greatest moment of my life.

Q. Finally, it was also in the India camp that you were picked by the Dabang Delhi team, how has the PKL journey been so far?

Indeed, last year the officials from the team approached me and I was overjoyed. The contract offered to me was something that I never even dreamt of. The fame, the finances – PKL has been a boon for all kabaddi players in our country. I hope it grows even further this year.