Deepak Hooda, India’s kabaddi captain and an Arjuna Awardee, spoke to The Daily Guardian about his struggles and experiences, and of course his aspirations. Excerpts:
Q. What was your experience after the hearing announcement of the National Sports Awards?
A. As soon as it was announced to be honored on the occasion of National Sports Day, I got more than three hundred and fifty phones in a single day and received congratulatory messages from sports-lovers, relatives, friends for which I express my heartfelt gratitude. The print and electronic media have also promoted the sports quite well, these are commendable efforts.
Q. Tell us about the struggles you have faced throughout your life?
A. When I was only 4 years old, I lost my mother. I did farming with my father to fetch money for the family. But when I reached the 12th class, my father also passed away. Faced a lot of financial constraints in childhood. At the same time, my elder sister Poonam’s husband (my brother-in-law) also got imprisoned for long due to family quarrel, and the maintenance of both his daughter and son including sister also came on my shoulders. Due to family responsibility, I had to leave my studies and worked for about one and a half years in Shivaji School (private) in the village itself. As soon as I reached home from school at half-past two in the afternoon, I used to work hard in the fields to raise funds by farming for the family.
Q. Where did you take kabaddi coaching from?
A. By the grace of God, I got good Kabaddi coaches like Joginder and Mahipal on time, just because of their able guidance my game has improved a lot. By the way, my first professional Kabaddi coach was Jagmal Singh. To get training from him, I borrowed 11 thousand rupees and bought a motorcycle so that I could travel 29 kilometers every day.
Q. What was the turning point in your life?
A. In January 2014, I won a gold medal in the National Games held in Patna. At the same time, other sports selectors including Gehlot Saheb, the Head of Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, praised my game and I also felt my hard work is paying off. After that, I did not look back, ever. Thereafter, in Pro-Kabaddi, immediately after the captain of India team Rakesh Kumar, I got a bid of 12.60 Lakh on my second number. After that, my life changed by the grace of God.
Q. What are your future plans?
A. See, Playing for the country is considered to be a great achievement in one’s life, that’s why I want to win my team more titles by playing all the international Kabaddi tournaments in the coming times. I am training in the evening and I want to expand it so that children dedicated to some sports can do well.
Interviewer is the Bureau Chief of Himalini Magazine. He has written two books on Media Education and is the founder of Creatives World Media Academy