How kabaddi gave Naik a much-needed lifeline

NEW DELHI: During his teenage years, Ranjit Venkatramana Naik would often wake up to find his house was flooded. Located in a low-lying area in the coastal Karnataka town of Bhatkal, the house made of mud, bricks and asbestos sheets was not enough to keep the rainwater out.

His father Bhaskar Narayan, a daily wage labourer, and mother Sushila, a homemaker, could barely manage to feed their three children, let alone fix the house. To make matters worse, Naik’s parents had taken a loan for his elder sister Raksha’s education which they were finding it tough to repay. Though Naik was studying in a government school where education was free, he was finding it strenuous to arrange funds for any extra expense.

To find a way around all the hardships, Naik, then in 10th grade, fell upon his favourite sport and lifelong passion — kabaddi. Naik’s interest coincided with the growth of the Pro Kabaddi League ( PKL). He would watch PKL matches, pick up tricks of the trade.Realising his strength and skill, Naik’s family decided, in 2018, to send him 150km away to Alva’s College in Moodabidri. The training bore fruit as Naik participated in the 2020 Junior Nationals in Haryana for Karnataka.

But his fortunes truly turned when PKL’s most successful team Patna Pirates picked him in September for ₹8.78 lakh for the ninth season of the league. The situation has improved in the Naik household too. Bhaskar Narayan now drives a truck.

Raksha is employed in a private company while his other sister, Rakshita, works as a beautician.

With the money that he’s now earning, Naik has two motives — to get his sisters married and to build a “good house” for the family.