<p>When Nitin Tomar took to kabaddi at school, little would he have imagined that it would catapult him into stardom. <br />The 22-year-old from Malakpur village of Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh, in fact, comes from a family of wrestlers, but he couldn’t resist his pull towards kabaddi. Today, Tomar is the man of the hour, the costliest buy of fifth Pro Kabaddi League with 93 lakh, reflecting the progress the sport has made in the last few years.<br />Tomar, who was bought by GMR owned Uttar Pradesh team, admitted he was caught off guard by the surprise windfall. “I didn’t expect that I would fetch so much in the auction. It is obviously a good feeling. Being the eldest in a big family I have responsibilities. The money would help me meet a lot of expenses especially with my sisters’ wedding round the corner. <br />“Rajesh Kumar, who was the costliest player in the first season, was picked at Rs 12.80 lakh. It goes to show how far the league has come,” Tomar, who had a base price of Rs 20 lakh, told Deccan Herald.<br />“My village is known for wrestling. In fact, two of my uncles were international wrestlers. I was introduced to kabaddi in school. Initially, people used to find it a bit odd that I was pursuing kabaddi, but I always did well in my school team. I was rarely caught when I made the raids. In a way both kabaddi and wrestling need power and stamina.”<br /> The raider, who was part of the Indian team for the 2016 World Cup in Ahmedabad, feels the sport’s profile would expand if it is drafted into the Olympic Games. “When I decided to pursue kabaddi, everyone would ask why I am playing this sport as it is not part of the Olympics. If kabaddi could become part of bigger mega events, India will definitely benefit a lot. Even today in villages, there are a lot of youngsters who are well versed with the game.”<br />For now, Tomar, who had earlier played for Bengal Warriors and Puneri Paltan, is eager to repay the confidence of UP franchise. “It is good to represent my state side. I am thankful for the faith the owners showed on me. I will work harder to live upto the expectations,” he said.<br /> The other top draws among the Indian players were Rohit Kumar (Bengaluru Bulls, Rs 81 lakh), Manjeet Chhillar (Jaipur Pink Panthers, Rs 75.5 lakh), Surjeet Singh (Bengal Warriors, Rs 73 lakh) and Selvamani K (Jaipur Pink Panthers, Rs 73 lakh). Iran’s Abozar Mohajermighani was the costliest foreign player, bought by Gujarat for Rs 50 lakh. On the second day of auction on Tuesday, young Indian players went under the hammer. Suraj Desai secured the highest bid by Dabang Delhi for Rs 52.50 lakh. New entrants also attracted the interest of the franchisee. Sachin, a junior national championships bronze medallist, was picked by team Gujarat for Rs 36 lakh.<br />The auction netted a consolidated price of Rs 46.99 crores for 227 players selected over two days of bidding between 12 franchises. The league will start on July 28.<br />DH News Service<br />The Bengaluru Bulls team (with contracted amount in rupees): Ashish Kumar (5,60,000), Harish Naik (6,00,000), Sumit Singh (6,00,000), Ravinder Pahal (50,00,000), Ajay (48,50,000), Rohit Kumar (81,00,000), Sinotharan Kanesharajah (8,00,000), Sanjay Shrestha (8,20,000), Sachin Kumar (46,00,000), Gurvinder Singh (16,20,000), Mahendra Singh (20,00,000), Pradeep Narwal (8,80,000), Kuldeep Singh (8,00,000), Ankit Sangwan (5,00,000), Amit (5,40,000), Rohit (5,00,000), Preetam Chillar (9,20,000), Sunil Jaipal (1,200,00).</p>
<p>When Nitin Tomar took to kabaddi at school, little would he have imagined that it would catapult him into stardom. <br />The 22-year-old from Malakpur village of Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh, in fact, comes from a family of wrestlers, but he couldn’t resist his pull towards kabaddi. Today, Tomar is the man of the hour, the costliest buy of fifth Pro Kabaddi League with 93 lakh, reflecting the progress the sport has made in the last few years.<br />Tomar, who was bought by GMR owned Uttar Pradesh team, admitted he was caught off guard by the surprise windfall. “I didn’t expect that I would fetch so much in the auction. It is obviously a good feeling. Being the eldest in a big family I have responsibilities. The money would help me meet a lot of expenses especially with my sisters’ wedding round the corner. <br />“Rajesh Kumar, who was the costliest player in the first season, was picked at Rs 12.80 lakh. It goes to show how far the league has come,” Tomar, who had a base price of Rs 20 lakh, told Deccan Herald.<br />“My village is known for wrestling. In fact, two of my uncles were international wrestlers. I was introduced to kabaddi in school. Initially, people used to find it a bit odd that I was pursuing kabaddi, but I always did well in my school team. I was rarely caught when I made the raids. In a way both kabaddi and wrestling need power and stamina.”<br /> The raider, who was part of the Indian team for the 2016 World Cup in Ahmedabad, feels the sport’s profile would expand if it is drafted into the Olympic Games. “When I decided to pursue kabaddi, everyone would ask why I am playing this sport as it is not part of the Olympics. If kabaddi could become part of bigger mega events, India will definitely benefit a lot. Even today in villages, there are a lot of youngsters who are well versed with the game.”<br />For now, Tomar, who had earlier played for Bengal Warriors and Puneri Paltan, is eager to repay the confidence of UP franchise. “It is good to represent my state side. I am thankful for the faith the owners showed on me. I will work harder to live upto the expectations,” he said.<br /> The other top draws among the Indian players were Rohit Kumar (Bengaluru Bulls, Rs 81 lakh), Manjeet Chhillar (Jaipur Pink Panthers, Rs 75.5 lakh), Surjeet Singh (Bengal Warriors, Rs 73 lakh) and Selvamani K (Jaipur Pink Panthers, Rs 73 lakh). Iran’s Abozar Mohajermighani was the costliest foreign player, bought by Gujarat for Rs 50 lakh. On the second day of auction on Tuesday, young Indian players went under the hammer. Suraj Desai secured the highest bid by Dabang Delhi for Rs 52.50 lakh. New entrants also attracted the interest of the franchisee. Sachin, a junior national championships bronze medallist, was picked by team Gujarat for Rs 36 lakh.<br />The auction netted a consolidated price of Rs 46.99 crores for 227 players selected over two days of bidding between 12 franchises. The league will start on July 28.<br />DH News Service<br />The Bengaluru Bulls team (with contracted amount in rupees): Ashish Kumar (5,60,000), Harish Naik (6,00,000), Sumit Singh (6,00,000), Ravinder Pahal (50,00,000), Ajay (48,50,000), Rohit Kumar (81,00,000), Sinotharan Kanesharajah (8,00,000), Sanjay Shrestha (8,20,000), Sachin Kumar (46,00,000), Gurvinder Singh (16,20,000), Mahendra Singh (20,00,000), Pradeep Narwal (8,80,000), Kuldeep Singh (8,00,000), Ankit Sangwan (5,00,000), Amit (5,40,000), Rohit (5,00,000), Preetam Chillar (9,20,000), Sunil Jaipal (1,200,00).</p>
